Colomina-Alminana, Juan (2025) Alice Ambrose on Logic, A Priori Concepts, and the Epistemology of Convention. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This essay argues that Alice Ambrose’s early published articles precede key elements
of W.V. Quine’s later critiques, first of “Truth by convention” (Quine 1936) and later of the
analytic-synthetic distinction (Quine 1951). I demonstrate how Ambrose identifies in writing as
early as in 1931: (1) the paradox of treating logical principles as mere conventions, (2) the
infinite-regress in stipulative definitions, (3) the pre-conditional role of logic for any convention,
and (4) the instability of the analytic-synthetic divide. Ambrose’s insights, therefore, prefigure
Margaret Macdonald’s 1934 unpublished dissertation (Cf. Spinney 2025) and predate some of
Quine’s major contributions a few years before he made them popular.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Colomina-Alminana, Juan j.colomina-alminana@northeastern.edu 0000-0002-0518-5361
Keywords:	Early Analytic Philosophy, Logic, Apriority, Truth by Convention, Infinite Regress
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Foundations Specific Sciences > Mathematics > History of Philosophy Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Logic General Issues > Conventionalism General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
Depositing User:	Juan Colomina-Alminana
Date Deposited:	19 May 2026 12:34
Last Modified:	19 May 2026 12:34
Item ID:	29696
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Foundations Specific Sciences > Mathematics > History of Philosophy Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Logic General Issues > Conventionalism General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
Date:	September 2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29696

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