A criterion of ontological commitment is a formal method for determining what objects or entities a theory says exists. The most famous criterion of ontological commitment was developed by W.V.O. Quine. However, Quine's criterion has been attacked for presumably not meeting his own standards for an acceptable theory. After explaining the motivation and details of Quine's criterion, I will tum to the prominent objections against his theory. I will argue that there are problems both with Quine's formulation of his criterion, as well as the interpretation of Quine's criterion as presented by his objectors. In response to these issues, I will present my own criterion of ontological commitment. I argue that my criterion of ontological commitment meets Quine's standards for an acceptable theory, but is not subject to the prominent objections that have been used against his criterion.
","abstract_html":"<p>A criterion of ontological commitment is a formal method for determining what objects or entities a theory says exists. The most famous criterion of ontological commitment was developed by W.V.O. Quine. However, Quine's criterion has been attacked for presumably not meeting his own standards for an acceptable theory. After explaining the motivation and details of Quine's criterion, I will tum to the prominent objections against his theory. I will argue that there are problems both with Quine's formulation of his criterion, as well as the interpretation of Quine's criterion as presented by his objectors. In response to these issues, I will present my own criterion of ontological commitment. I argue that my criterion of ontological commitment meets Quine's standards for an acceptable theory, but is not subject to the prominent objections that have been used against his criterion.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Suttle, William Felix, III"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Philosophy and Religion","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Paula Smithka","Samuel Bruton","Chris Meyers"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:06Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/525","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Paula Smithka","Samuel Bruton","Chris Meyers"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Suttle, William Felix, III"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-11-16T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Philosophy and Religion"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/525"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A criterion of ontological commitment is a formal method for determining what objects or entities a theory says exists. The most famous criterion of ontological commitment was developed by W.V.O. Quine. However, Quine's criterion has been attacked for presumably not meeting his own standards for an acceptable theory. After explaining the motivation and details of Quine's criterion, I will tum to the prominent objections against his theory. I will argue that there are problems both with Quine's formulation of his criterion, as well as the interpretation of Quine's criterion as presented by his objectors. In response to these issues, I will present my own criterion of ontological commitment. I argue that my criterion of ontological commitment meets Quine's standards for an acceptable theory, but is not subject to the prominent objections that have been used against his criterion.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Extensionalist Approach to Ontological Commitment: Why Quine is Mostly Right"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Paula Smithka","Samuel Bruton","Chris Meyers"],"dc:creator":["Suttle, William Felix, III"],"dc:date.available":["2018-11-16T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["A criterion of ontological commitment is a formal method for determining what objects or entities a theory says exists. The most famous criterion of ontological commitment was developed by W.V.O. Quine. However, Quine's criterion has been attacked for presumably not meeting his own standards for an acceptable theory. After explaining the motivation and details of Quine's criterion, I will tum to the prominent objections against his theory. I will argue that there are problems both with Quine's formulation of his criterion, as well as the interpretation of Quine's criterion as presented by his objectors. In response to these issues, I will present my own criterion of ontological commitment. I argue that my criterion of ontological commitment meets Quine's standards for an acceptable theory, but is not subject to the prominent objections that have been used against his criterion.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/525"],"dc:title":["An Extensionalist Approach to Ontological Commitment: Why Quine is Mostly Right"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Philosophy and Religion"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:06Z"}