Richard Cartwright is one of the most clearheaded, astute, and penetrating philosophers in this country. Because of his own strict standards, however, his work has been published only sparingly and is not as well known as he himself is. Philosophical Essays is a welcome first collection. It includes fifteen essays spanning three decades of Cartwright's thought and focusing on central problems in the philosophy of logic, the philosophy of language, and metaphysics. The introduction offers an excellent guide to Cartwright's mode (...) of thought and pedagogical style. Some of these essays are now regarded as classics; six others are published here for the first time. Each of them, from "Macbeth's Dagger" to "Negative Existentials" and "Propositions of Pure Logic" is a model of craftsmanship and clarity of thought. They span a variety of topics, including identity, truths, essence, implication, and philosophical method. Richard Cartwright is Professor of Philosophy and Head of the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT. (shrink)

In a number of essays published over the last decade or so, W. V. Quine has made some interesting suggestions concerning the ontology of theories. If I understand him correctly, one of his principal objects has been to formulate a criterion by means of which one can correctly decide what are the ontological commitments of any given theory. My aim in this paper is to reveal what I think are inadequacies in Quine's criterion and to indicate the direction in which (...) a proper formulation lies. (shrink)

Peter Geach has said that Russell's use of ‘propositional function’ is ‘hopelessly confused and inconsistent’. Geach is right, and attempts to say what exactly a Russellian propositional function is, or is supposed to be, are bound to end in frustration. Nevertheless, it may be worthwhile to pursue an account of propositional functions that accommodates a good deal of what Russell says about them and that can provide some of what he expected of them.