On What There Is

E1036181

academic article philosophical paper

"On What There Is" is a seminal 1948 philosophical paper by W.V.O. Quine that challenges traditional notions of ontology and argues that a theory’s commitments to what exists are revealed by the bound variables in its quantificational logic.

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All labels observed (1)

Label	Occurrences
On What There Is canonical	7

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T13371978 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: On What There Is
Context triple: [Existence and Quantification, relatedWork, On What There Is]

A. The Way Things Are
"The Way Things Are" is a track from Fiona Apple's album *When the Pawn...*, showcasing her introspective lyrics and distinctive piano-driven alternative style.
B. What Is There to Say
"What Is There to Say" is a jazz album by virtuoso guitarist Joe Pass, showcasing his sophisticated improvisation and harmonic mastery.
C. Something There
"Something There" is a romantic duet from the stage musical adaptation of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, in which Belle and the Beast begin to recognize their growing affection for each other.
D. When There’s Nothing Left
"When There’s Nothing Left" is a song from Christian pop singer Katy Hudson’s self-titled debut album released before she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.
E. Here and There
"Here and There" is a short story by David Foster Wallace, included in his collection *Girl with Curious Hair*, that explores themes of communication, perception, and emotional distance.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: On What There Is
Target entity description: "On What There Is" is a seminal 1948 philosophical paper by W.V.O. Quine that challenges traditional notions of ontology and argues that a theory’s commitments to what exists are revealed by the bound variables in its quantificational logic.

A. The Way Things Are
"The Way Things Are" is a track from Fiona Apple's album *When the Pawn...*, showcasing her introspective lyrics and distinctive piano-driven alternative style.
B. What Is There to Say
"What Is There to Say" is a jazz album by virtuoso guitarist Joe Pass, showcasing his sophisticated improvisation and harmonic mastery.
C. Something There
"Something There" is a romantic duet from the stage musical adaptation of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, in which Belle and the Beast begin to recognize their growing affection for each other.
D. When There’s Nothing Left
"When There’s Nothing Left" is a song from Christian pop singer Katy Hudson’s self-titled debut album released before she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.
E. Here and There
"Here and There" is a short story by David Foster Wallace, included in his collection *Girl with Curious Hair*, that explores themes of communication, perception, and emotional distance.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	academic article ⓘ philosophical paper ⓘ
addresses	problem of nonexistent objects ⓘ question of what there is ⓘ
argumentativeStrategy	reinterprets ordinary existential claims in logical notation ⓘ uses formal logic to clarify ontological disputes ⓘ
author	W. V. O. Quine ⓘ linked to: Willard Van Orman Quine Willard Van Orman Quine ⓘ
canonicalStatus	classic paper in analytic metaphysics ⓘ widely anthologized in philosophy collections ⓘ
centralClaim	A theory’s ontological commitments are revealed by the values of its bound variables in quantificational logic ⓘ To be is to be the value of a bound variable ⓘ
centralTopic	existence ⓘ ontological commitment ⓘ ontology ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
criticizes	Meinongian ontology ⓘ acceptance of nonexistent objects ⓘ
field	philosophy ⓘ
impact	shaped the methodology of analytic ontology in the 20th century ⓘ standard reference point in discussions of ontological commitment ⓘ
influenced	contemporary analytic metaphysics ⓘ ontological commitment debates ⓘ philosophy of language ⓘ philosophy of logic ⓘ
influencedBy	Bertrand Russell ⓘ Rudolf Carnap ⓘ logical positivism ⓘ
introducesConcept	criterion of ontological commitment ⓘ
keyDistinction	distinction between linguistic expressions and their ontological commitments ⓘ distinction between use and mention in ontological discourse ⓘ
keySlogan	To be is to be the value of a bound variable ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
methodologicalThesis	Ontological questions are to be settled by examining the quantificational structure of our best theories ⓘ
philosophicalStance	naturalistic approach to ontology ⓘ rejection of vague talk about existence in favor of formal criteria ⓘ
philosophicalTradition	analytic philosophy ⓘ
positionOnOntology	ontological commitment is theory-relative ⓘ ontology should be guided by regimented scientific theories ⓘ
publicationYear	1948 ⓘ
publishedIn	Review of Metaphysics ⓘ
relatedWorkOfAuthor	Two Dogmas of Empiricism ⓘ linked to: “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” Word and Object ⓘ
subfield	metaphysics ⓘ ontology ⓘ
usesFramework	first-order quantificational logic ⓘ