--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Treating 'water' as a name of a single…" description: "\"Treating 'water' as a name of a single scattered object is not intended to enable us to dispense with general terms and plurality of reference. Scatter..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_details_treating-water-as-a-name-of-a-single-sca_1550650.jpg" --- # Treating 'water' as a name of a single scattered object is… ![“Treating 'water' as a name of a single scattered object is not intended to enable us to dispense with general terms and plurality of reference. Scatter is in fact an inconsequential detail.” quote by Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_details_treating-water-as-a-name-of-a-single-sca_1550650.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_details_treating-water-as-a-name-of-a-single-sca_1550650.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_details_treating-water-as-a-name-of-a-single-sca_1550650.jpg) > “Treating 'water' as a name of a single scattered object is not intended to enable us to dispense with general terms and plurality of reference. Scatter is in fact an inconsequential detail.” [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. Quine argues that naming a single object as “water” does not eliminate the need for general terms and plural references. **In simple terms:** Naming one thing as water doesn’t replace general language. Key Takeaway Use precise language for clarity. Themes language philosophy semantics reference plurality Mood analytical critical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - teaching philosophy - writing academic papers - discussing semantics - clarifying concepts Key Concepts ontology linguistics logic Questions to Reflect On - Why do we need plural terms? - How does this affect scientific discourse? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on singular terms can oversimplify complex ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Scatter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scatter/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [The best way to do good to ourselves is to do it to others; the right way to gather is to scatter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/the-best-way-to-do-good-to-ourselves-is-to-do-it-to-others-the-right/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Of-course we did, but we didn't reply because we knew once this leaks the others will scatter, so in the few days we moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/of-course-we-did-but-we-didn-t-reply-because-we-knew-once-this-leaks/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [I haven't really thought about where to scatter my ashes when the time comes, but I doubt that it would be in space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bakula/i-haven-t-really-thought-about-where-to-scatter-my-ashes-when-the/) [Scott Bakula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bakula/) > [“The thick baffling blades of false world customs rip off my views and ideas,like breaking every string of my aesthetic thoughts in disdain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nithin-purple/the-thick-baffling-blades-of-false-world-customs-rip-off-my-views-and/) [Nithin Purple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nithin-purple/) > [“When I observe the daytime horizon, I see white sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/when-i-observe-the-daytime-horizon-i-see-white-sky/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“The United groups always overcome scatters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamaran-ihsan-salih/the-united-groups-always-overcome-scatters/) [Kamaran Ihsan Salih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamaran-ihsan-salih/) > [“And it seems I ought to scatter too. Perhaps at once. It's always better to turn your back on the gale than press your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-crace/and-it-seems-i-ought-to-scatter-too-perhaps-at-once-it-s-always/) [Jim Crace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-crace/) > [“Leaders gather scattered people with the positive influence of intimacy while misleaders scatter gathered people with the negative influence of intimidation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/leaders-gather-scattered-people-with-the-positive-influence-of/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The small is easy to scatter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-small-is-easy-to-scatter/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-no-beautifier-of-complexion-or-form-or-behavior-like-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Either get together or scatter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hlovate/either-get-together-or-scatter/) Hlovate > [“Knowledge was scattered treasure, education organized it into art, commerce and science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/knowledge-was-scattered-treasure-education-organized-it-into-art/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Scatter seeds of kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/scatter-seeds-of-kindness/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [Scatter my ashes on the Shannon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/scatter-my-ashes-on-the-shannon/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) ## 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. 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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. 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