From Ideal Language to Quinean canonical notation: Components of Quinean canonical notation and Its Application to Modality and Propositional Attitudes.

Document Type : Academic scientific reviews of any other material related to the main domains of this Journal.

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Philosophy Department,-Faculty of Arts-Ain Shams University

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the canonical notation of the logician and philosopher of language, Willard Quine, closely from both its semantic and syntactic aspects, comparing it to the ideal logical notations from which it originated. Gottlob Frege (1848-1925) pointed out the importance of innovating an ideal language, which Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) presented in his book with Alfred Whitehead (1861-1947), Principia Mathematica. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) worked on revising it, but Russell restricted its application only to the field of sciences while Wittgenstein retreated and abandoned it. Rudolf Carnap (1891-1970) remained a believer in it, striving to apply it on scientific knowledge. However, Quine worked on revising it and after that presenting a version of it in the form of a canonical notation, attempting to clarify the nature of its components, such as variables and schemes, and to demonstrate also its illustrative utility. Accordingly, in this paper, I shall attempt to study this notation, trying to present its components and examining them syntactically and semantically, demonstrating its simplifying aspect especially in modality and propositional attitudes and considering the main criticisms directed at it.

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Journal of Aswan Faculty of Arts
Volume 20., Issue 2
October 2025
Pages 562-632

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