Knowledge Quotes

"The institution of meaning is the very structure of human existence."

"To understand is to participate in the world, not to observe it from outside."

"Understanding requires a kind of dialogue with the world."

"The meaning of a term is not determined by the objects it refers to alone"

"Essences are not purely a matter of definition"

"Semantic externalism: meaning ain't in the head"

"We must distinguish between epistemic and metaphysical possibility"

"Wittgenstein shows that meaning cannot be determined by private rules alone"

"A priori knowledge does not guarantee necessity"

"Gödel's incompleteness theorems show the limits of formalization"

"Ambiguity in language reveals complexity in our concepts"

"Indexicals like 'I' and 'now' have special semantic properties"

"The search for necessary and sufficient conditions often fails"

"Epistemic necessity differs fundamentally from metaphysical necessity"

"Most speakers cannot give a complete analysis of the terms they use"

"The sense-reference distinction needs careful philosophical treatment"

"Modal logic illuminates the structure of reality"

"Understanding requires grasping how terms are connected to reality"

"We must distinguish between conceptual and metaphysical analysis"

"The scope of quantifiers creates important ambiguities"

"Understanding meaning requires understanding how language hooks onto reality"

"Analytic truths are often dependent on the particular language used"

"The problem of induction is to justify the rules by which we project unobserved instances from observed ones."

"Words can mean different things in different contexts; meaning is use."

"Translation is only approximate because meanings are not determinate."

"The web of belief is a totality that must be evaluated as a whole, not piecemeal."

"The most certain truths are those least subject to empirical revision."

"No statement is immune from revision in light of experience."

"All knowledge is provisional and subject to revision."

"The notion of synonymy cannot be sustained in a rigorous theory of meaning."