Hold come what may
Encyclopedia
Hold come what may is a phrase popularized by the late Harvard philosophy
professor, Willard Van Orman Quine
. Belief
s that are "held come what may" are beliefs one is unwilling to give up, regardless of any evidence with which one might be presented. Quine held (on a perhaps simplistic construal) that there are no beliefs that one ought to hold come what may—in other words, that all beliefs are rationally
revisable. Many philosophers argue to the contrary, believing that, for example, the laws of thought cannot be revised and may be "held come what may".
A closely related concept is Hold more stubbornly at least. Some beliefs may be more useful than others, or may be implied by a large number of beliefs. Examples might be laws of logic
, or the belief in an external world of physical objects. Altering such central portions of the web would have immense, ramifying consequences. It is better to alter auxiliary beliefs around the edges of the web in the face of new evidence unfriendly to one's central principles. Thus, while one might agree that there is no belief one can hold come what may, there are some for which there is ample practical ground to "hold more stubbornly at least".
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
professor, Willard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition...
. Belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
s that are "held come what may" are beliefs one is unwilling to give up, regardless of any evidence with which one might be presented. Quine held (on a perhaps simplistic construal) that there are no beliefs that one ought to hold come what may—in other words, that all beliefs are rationally
Rationality
In philosophy, rationality is the exercise of reason. It is the manner in which people derive conclusions when considering things deliberately. It also refers to the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons for belief, or with one's actions with one's reasons for action...
revisable. Many philosophers argue to the contrary, believing that, for example, the laws of thought cannot be revised and may be "held come what may".
A closely related concept is Hold more stubbornly at least. Some beliefs may be more useful than others, or may be implied by a large number of beliefs. Examples might be laws of logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
, or the belief in an external world of physical objects. Altering such central portions of the web would have immense, ramifying consequences. It is better to alter auxiliary beliefs around the edges of the web in the face of new evidence unfriendly to one's central principles. Thus, while one might agree that there is no belief one can hold come what may, there are some for which there is ample practical ground to "hold more stubbornly at least".