The Multi-Faceted Approach to Truth Discovery and Knowledge-Seeking: Pragmatism According to W. V. Quine and Richard Rorty
In the history of philosophy, epistemology emerges as the one of the most dominant branches in this field of study. The dominance of epistemology in modern thought and ideology is reflected in humanity's knowledge-seeking and truth-discovery methods. At present, we are influenced and educated to learn about definitions, and have subsisted to the thesis of correspondence theory of truth, which posits that the mind mirrors external reality. In effect, epistemology believes that knowledge and truth is reflected on the individual's external reality and experience, projected in the mind to influence his/her way of thinking and increasing knowledge stored in the individual's mind. Through epistemology, every field of study has its own set of concepts, definitions, and descriptions, which are all products of the human mind reflecting reality. However, another
W. V. Quine and Richard Rorty are two of the primary proponents of pragmatism and critics of epistemology. W. V. Quine, who was known for his studies on the role that pragmatism plays in linguistic studies and language as applied in society, explicated the problematic nature of epistemology. In "Two Dogmas of Empiricism," he identified the dichotomy of analytic/synthetic truths and reductionism as empiricism's two dogmas. These dogmas were considered problematic, according to Quine, because it limits the way individuals think about a specific kind or form of reality. The analytic-synthetic truths dichotomy reflected the simplistic view of reality in empiricism-that is, one must not take for granted that "meaning is not to be identified with naming or reference." Thus, definitions, descriptions, and concepts are not to be taken, in absolute certainty, wha
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Approximate Word count = 582
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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