On Quine’s reasons for holophrastic indeterminacy of translation

Abstract

A common assumption about Quine’s indeterminacy of holophrastic translation is that his main reason for it was his thesis of underdetermination of theories by observations. Quine in fact made that argument. Yet, his mature formulation of the thesis of underdetermination rendered that argument invalid, and he subsequently dropped it. This paper explains that shift in Quine’s thought and indicates his mature reasons for indeterminacy of holophrastic translation.