A compact, coherent introduction to the study of rational belief, this text provides points of entry to such areas of philosophy as theory of knowledge, methodology of science, and philosophy of language. The book is accessible to all undergraduates and presupposes no philosophical training.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very much worth the challenge,
By Theodore (Ventura, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Web of Belief (Paperback)
Williard V. Quine (1908-2000), a brilliant mathematician and philosopher from Akron, Ohio and Joseph S. Ullian (1930-), currently a professor of philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, composed The Web of Belief for "freshmen courses in English" (p. v) in 1970. The small book contains 145 pages divided into ten chapters that look promising but quickly become intimidating.
The Web of Belief is worth one's time and effort, because The Web of Belief introduces the reader to the goodness of "science" ("Intro.", p. 3), encourages us to weed-out our "conflicting beliefs" (Ch. 2, p. 14), teaches us to appreciate our intuitions since it is "impossible" to prove "every reasonable belief" (Ch. 7, p. 92), and encourages us to find "a common ground of beliefs" when arguing with a person in order to "minimize effort for ourselves" (Ch. 10, p. 129). I particularly welcome this last bit of advice. Chapter Seven, "Hypothesis", is the goal toward which the first six chapters are headed and is definately worth the price of the book. It is here that Quine and Ullian distinguish an "Observation" and the "direct evidence of the senses" (p. 21) from a "Hypothesis" which is an "enlightened guess" (p. 65), "a plausible story" (p. 66). Chapter Eight, "Confirmation and Refutation", completes chapter seven and discusses how a plausible story and a hypothesis becomes a true "law" of science (p. 98). For a person who agrees that it is good to think clearly, carefully and independently and who wishes to take the mind seriously, I strongly recommend this book as well as anything written by Aristotle.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still wonderfully useful as an introduction,
By W. Jamison "William S. Jamison" (Eagle River, Ak United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Web of Belief (Paperback)
Considering the many years since this was first written as "a compact introduction to the study of rational belief" it has wonderfully survived as a gem of a little book. Philosophy is a difficult subject to start. If a course starts with ancient philosophy, besides the challenge of critical thinking, there are cultural issues, translation issues, and the matter of explaining contemporary relevance. All of those issues are avoided with this book. It is a clear description of terms necessary for rational thought studiously written by a master logician for beginning students. It is also a wonderful introduction to Quine.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent introduction to rational thought,
By louis smith "louis" (U.S.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Web of Belief (Paperback)
This book points to the underpinnings of rational thought and scientific method. There is no such thing as THE scientific method. But all versions of the scientific method have certain basic elements such as hypothesis, evidence, testing of theory and so forth. This book explains all this and from the position of philosophy that invented the scientific method. The authors show the logic behind rational thought which all adds up to eminent common sense. After reading this book many years ago, it became clear to me how Einstein came up with the theory of relativity. The theory is an explanation of why the Miachelson-Morley experiment failed to find the ether. This book makes a lot of sense. Its a bit pricey, but if you like the philosophy behind rational thinking and scientific method, you might consider the purchase of this book.
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