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About this quote

What does it mean?
Quine suggests that a universe crowded with entities lacks aesthetic appeal to those who prefer simplicity.
In plain terms
Too many things in the world make it less beautiful to some people.
What can you take from it?
Simplicity often enhances aesthetic value.

Where it applies

  • philosophical debate
  • art criticism
  • scientific theory

Putting it to work

  • evaluate theories by simplicity
  • consider aesthetic costs

Questions to consider

  • What makes a theory beautiful?
  • Should simplicity matter in science?

Another view

Aesthetic preference does not prove ontological truth.

More from Willard van Orman Quine

  1. Creatures inveterately wrong in their inductions have a pathetic but praise-worthy tendency to die before reproducing their kind.

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  2. The word 'definition' has come to have a dangerously reassuring sound, owing no doubt to its frequent occurrence in logical and mathematical writings.'

    Permalink to quote #5
  3. To be is to be the value of a bound variable.

    Permalink to quote #2

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