--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nonbeing must in some sense be, otherwise…" description: "\"Nonbeing must in some sense be, otherwise what is it that there is not? This tangled doctrine might be nicknamed Plato's beard; historically it has pro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_beard_nonbeing-must-in-some-sense-be-otherwise_1435711.jpg" --- # Nonbeing must in some sense be, otherwise what is it that… ![“Nonbeing must in some sense be, otherwise what is it that there is not? This tangled doctrine might be nicknamed Plato's beard; historically it has proved tough, frequently dulling the edge of Occam's razor.” quote by Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_beard_nonbeing-must-in-some-sense-be-otherwise_1435711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_beard_nonbeing-must-in-some-sense-be-otherwise_1435711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_beard_nonbeing-must-in-some-sense-be-otherwise_1435711.jpg) > “Nonbeing must in some sense be, otherwise what is it that there is not? This tangled doctrine might be nicknamed Plato's beard; historically it has proved tough, frequently dulling the edge of Occam's razor.” [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The concept of non‑being is paradoxical; if it exists, it becomes something, challenging logical clarity. **In simple terms:** Non‑being is a confusing idea. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about existence. Themes philosophy logic paradox ontology Mood curious introspective Type analytical inquisitive When to use this quote - debating existence - teaching philosophy - writing academic papers - engaging in debates Key Concepts Plato's beard Occam's razor metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - What does 'non‑being' mean to you? - Can paradoxes be useful in reasoning? A Different Perspective Such abstractions can be inaccessible to non‑specialists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Nonbeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonbeing/) [Occam's Razor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occams-razor/) [Occam-s-razor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occam-s-razor/) ## Related quotes > [Scientists often talk of parsimony (as in "the simplest explanation is probably correct," also known as Occam's razor), but we should not get seduced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/scientists-often-talk-of-parsimony-as-in-the-simplest-explanation-is/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [Occam's razor suggests that, if some event is physically plausible, we don't need recourse to more extraordinary claims for its being. Surely the requirement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/occam-s-razor-suggests-that-if-some-event-is-physically-plausible-we/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [Were it not for Occam's Razor, which always demands simplicity, I'd be tempted to believe that human beings are more influenced by distant causes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/were-it-not-for-occam-s-razor-which-always-demands-simplicity-i-d-be/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [So Occam's razor - Occam says you should choose the explanation that is most simple and straightforward - leads me more to believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/so-occam-s-razor-occam-says-you-should-choose-the-explanation-that-is/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [While Occam's razor is a useful tool in the physical sciences, it can be a very dangerous implement in biology. It is thus very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/while-occam-s-razor-is-a-useful-tool-in-the-physical-sciences-it-can/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [“Occam's razor." "Yes. When formulating a theory, eliminate as few assumptions as possible. In other words, the simplest explanation is the most likely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/occam-s-razor-yes-when-formulating-a-theory-eliminate-as-few/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Of course, logic is not the only tool used in debate, and it is helpful to be cognizant of the others. Rhetoric likely tops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-almossawi/of-course-logic-is-not-the-only-tool-used-in-debate-and-it-is-helpful/) Ali Almossawi > [“shave you mind with occam's razor everyday”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-grimsley/shave-you-mind-with-occam-s-razor-everyday/) Paul Grimsley > [I'm not a theoretician about playwriting, but I have a strong sense that plays have to be pitched - the scene, the line, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-a-theoretician-about-playwriting-but-i-have-a-strong-sense/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“The uncertainty principle signaled an end to Laplace's dream of a theory of science, a model of the universe that would be completely deterministic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-uncertainty-principle-signaled-an-end-to-laplace-s-dream-of-a/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Occam's Razor" was a principle designed to urge one to select the hypothesis or theory that made the fewest assumptions. Though on the surface…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-konkoly/occam-s-razor-was-a-principle-designed-to-urge-one-to-select-the/) [Steven Konkoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-konkoly/) > [And this shows that people want to be stupid and they do not want to know the truth. And it shows that something called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-this-shows-that-people-want-to-be-stupid-and-they-do-not-want-to/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [Entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/entities-are-not-to-be-multiplied-beyond-necessity/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [Nature operates in the shortest way possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/nature-operates-in-the-shortest-way-possible/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Therefore to the same natural effects we must, as far as possible, assign the same causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/therefore-to-the-same-natural-effects-we-must-as-far-as-possible/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) ## More by Willard Van Orman Quine > [It is one of the consolations of philosophy that the benefit of showing how to dispense with a concept does not hinge on dispensing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/it-is-one-of-the-consolations-of-philosophy-that-the-benefit-of/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Theory may be deliberate, as in a chapter on chemistry, or it may be second nature, as in the immemorial doctrine of ordinary enduring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/theory-may-be-deliberate-as-in-a-chapter-on-chemistry-or-it-may-be/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [The line that I am urging as today's conventional wisdom is not a denial of consciousness. It is often called, with more reason, arepudiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-line-that-i-am-urging-as-today-s-conventional-wisdom-is-not-a/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Our talk of external things, our very notion of things, is just a conceptual apparatus that helps us to foresee and control the triggerings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/our-talk-of-external-things-our-very-notion-of-things-is-just-a/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [The mastery of one's phonemes may be compared to the violinist's mastery of fingering. The violin string lends itself to a continuous gradation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-mastery-of-one-s-phonemes-may-be-compared-to-the-violinist-s/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [“Believing is a disposition. We could tire ourselves out thinking, if we put our minds to it, but believing takes no toll.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/believing-is-a-disposition-we-could-tire-ourselves-out-thinking-if-we/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [The strategy of semantic ascent is that it carries the discussion into a domain where both parties are better agreed on the objects (viz.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-strategy-of-semantic-ascent-is-that-it-carries-the-discussion/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Scientific method is the way to truth, but it affords, even in principle, no unique definition of truth. Any so-called pragmatic definition of truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/scientific-method-is-the-way-to-truth-but-it-affords-even-in/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [ Some have said that the thesis \[of indeterminacy\] is a consequence of my behaviorism. Some have said that it is a reductio ad absurdum… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/some-have-said-that-the-thesis-of-indeterminacy-is-a-consequence-of/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Some may find comfort in reflecting that the distinction between an eliminative and an explicative physicalism is unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/some-may-find-comfort-in-reflecting-that-the-distinction-between-an/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [We must not leap to the fatalistic conclusion that we are stuck with the conceptual scheme that we grew up in. We can change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/we-must-not-leap-to-the-fatalistic-conclusion-that-we-are-stuck-with/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [The word 'definition' has come to have a dangerously reassuring sound, owing no doubt to its frequent occurrence in logical and mathematical writings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-word-definition-has-come-to-have-a-dangerously-reassuring-sound/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Logic chases truth up the tree of grammar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/logic-chases-truth-up-the-tree-of-grammar/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Science is not a substitute for common sense, but an extension of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/science-is-not-a-substitute-for-common-sense-but-an-extension-of-it/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [The variables of quantification, 'something,' 'nothing,' 'everything,' range over our whole ontology, whatever it may be; and we are convicted of a particular ontological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-variables-of-quantification-something-nothing-everything-range/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) [Explore all 67 Willard Van Orman Quine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) ## More Beard quotes > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“Nay! Faith, let me not play a woman! I have a beard coming!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/nay-faith-let-me-not-play-a-woman-i-have-a-beard-coming/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a grump-looking old man with a great deal of a long gray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-barman-sidled-toward-them-out-of-a-back-room-he-was-a-grump/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born with a beard. We're quite hairy down in Latin America. We don't have to use sponges when we wash dishes. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devendra-banhart/i-was-born-with-a-beard-we-re-quite-hairy-down-in-latin-america-we/) [Devendra Banhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devendra-banhart/) > [“beard framing a face that had started to show his age, weathered and lined from years”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allibone/beard-framing-a-face-that-had-started-to-show-his-age-weathered-and/) Richard Allibone > [If I can play, and change the mind of one person about being a Muslim player and having a beard, then I'll feel as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moeen-ali/if-i-can-play-and-change-the-mind-of-one-person-about-being-a-muslim/) [Moeen Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moeen-ali/) > [“Pride is like a beard. It is just keeps growing; the solution?- Shave it every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ong/pride-is-like-a-beard-it-is-just-keeps-growing-the-solution-shave-it/) George Ong > [“I have no idea why this is. I’m sure somebody with a beard and too much time on their hands would say it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-spalding/i-have-no-idea-why-this-is-i-m-sure-somebody-with-a-beard-and-too/) [Nick Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-spalding/) > [They were bullyin' him, Hermione, 'cause he's so small!" said Hagrid. "Small?" said Hermione. "Small?" "Hermione, I couldn't leave him," said Hagrid, tears now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-were-bullyin-him-hermione-cause-he-s-so-small-said-hagrid-small/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Allow me," said the elf, proffering Gimlet's beard to Frito, who was now sneezing uncontrollably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-harvard-lampoon/allow-me-said-the-elf-proffering-gimlet-s-beard-to-frito-who-was-now/) [The Harvard Lampoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-harvard-lampoon/) > [Never insult a mans beard, you either get thunder or lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/si-robertson/never-insult-a-mans-beard-you-either-get-thunder-or-lightning/) [Si Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/si-robertson/) > [If we didn't live venturously, plucking the wild goat by the beard, and trembling over precipices, we should never be depressed, I've no doubt;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-we-didn-t-live-venturously-plucking-the-wild-goat-by-the-beard-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [If I had to choose between the two ways of approaching the deity, I should prefer the existential relational way, to the abstract philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/if-i-had-to-choose-between-the-two-ways-of-approaching-the-deity-i/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [“Shave that Moses beard and you might have better luck. Women don’t want to kiss carpet, you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kody-keplinger/shave-that-moses-beard-and-you-might-have-better-luck-women-don-t/) [Kody Keplinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kody-keplinger/) > [If Elmore Leonard met Jim Thompson down a dark alley at midnight they might emerge a week later with thick beards, bloodshot eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/if-elmore-leonard-met-jim-thompson-down-a-dark-alley-at-midnight-they/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) Browse all 588 Beard quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nonbeing must in some sense be, otherwise what is it that there is not? 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