The web of belief
Quine held that no belief can be confirmed or refuted in isolation — beliefs form a web that touches experience only at its edges, and any conflict can be met by adjusting different parts of the net.
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Quine
Analytic philosopher of the "two dogmas of empiricism"
Those Who Ground an Idea Into a Whole System · Disciples & School-Builders
Analytic philosophyNaturalismHolism
Who they are
Quine (1908–2000), central to twentieth-century American analytic philosophy, attacked the analytic/synthetic distinction and reductionism in "Two Dogmas of Empiricism," holding that beliefs form a "web" adjusted as a whole against experience. He naturalized epistemology and reshaped analytic philosophy.
Primary sourcesQuine, Two Dogmas of Empiricism, Word and Object
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Echoes today
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
"Indeterminacy of translation"His holism and naturalized epistemology reshaped analytic philosophy after mid-century.