Question

In exploring Quine's indeterminacy thesis, Dummett discusses the possibility that two equally acceptable translation schemes from language L to language M might lead to distinct sentences in M with different truth values. How does Dummett's objection to this scenario highlight the disagreement between Quine and himself regarding the nature of indeterminacy in translation and the implications for a theory of meaning?

Answer 1

Dummett objects to Quine's scenario regarding indeterminacy of translation and highlights their disagreement on the nature of indeterminacy and its implications for meaning theory.

Step-by-step explanation:

Dummett objects to the scenario presented by Quine regarding the indeterminacy of translation. Quine suggests that two equally acceptable translation schemes from language L to language M could lead to distinct sentences in M with different truth values. However, Dummett argues that this objection highlights the disagreement between Quine and himself regarding the nature of indeterminacy in translation and the implications for a theory of meaning. Dummett believes that translation indeterminacy does not imply a lack of determinate meaning in language, while Quine argues that there is no unique translation scheme that captures the meaning of a sentence.