Quine: The nature and implications of indeterminacy and underdetermination

W. V. Quine's theses concerning the indeterminacy of translation and the underdetermination of physical theories are two of the most controversial philosophical theses of the twentieth century. The purpose of this thesis is first to clarify and explain the nature of both indeterminacy and of underdetermination, and to analyze the relationship between Quine's two theses. Second, the apparent tension between underdetermination and Quine's realism will be examined, and Quine's general physicalistic position will be defended against several critics. Lastly, I will discuss some of the more interesting ramifications of his underdetermination thesis--as it is applied to philosophical theories. I suggest if we take the underdetermination thesis seriously, it will have an enormous impact upon our philosophical method and upon our attitude toward philosophical theories in general.