What this was supposed to mean is that if and only if an object could serve as the value of some variable, we
are committed to recognizing the existence of that object in our ontology.
Obviously, if there ARE no variables, this slogan has to be rethought.
Quine did not appear to appreciate that Shoenfinkel had already invented combinatory logic, though
he later wrote an introduction to Shoenfinkel's key paper reprinted in Jean
What this was supposed to mean is that if and only if an object could serve as the value of some variable, we
are committed to recognizing the existence of that object in our ontology.
Obviously, if there ARE no variables, this slogan has to be rethought.
Quine did not appear to appreciate that Shoenfinkel had already invented combinatory logic, though
he later wrote an introduction to Shoenfinkel's key paper reprinted in Jean