“I Shall not Be Impressed …”: Quine on Induction and Evolution in “Natural Kinds”

Abstract In his paper “Natural Kinds,” W. V. O. Quine suggests that appeal may be made to Darwinian evolution by natural selection to explain the reliability of our use of inductive inference. Quine recognizes that this appeal to Darwin renders him open to the charge that he is offering a circular justification of induction. He dismisses the charge rather abruptly. This paper attempts to explain Quine’s reason for rejecting the charge of circularity.