Carnap and Quine on the Nature of Evidence (and the Nature of Philosophy)

I discuss the differing views of Carnap and Quine about evidence, as a way of gaining insight into their differing conceptions of philosophy and philosophical method. Carnap (post-1932) takes philosophy as a wholly abstract subject. This makes it impossible for him to give an account of evidence. Quine, by contrast, puts forward an explicitly scientific and empirical account of evidence. I briefly examine this account to show how it bears out Quine’s claims that his philosophy is in conformity with scientific standards.