<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=JHlJNHzgB1MC&amp;pg=PA408&amp;lpg=PA408&amp;dq=Quine%27s+method+discrete+structures+logic+and+computabilit&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=ZbwqhfFtw-&amp;sig=ACfU3U0AZSEiHOL90dpa5MOo0NLS3TDL1g&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjo7OCB8ejxAhVyUt8KHc4JBBoQ6AEwBnoECBkQAw#v=onepage&amp;q=Quine%27s%20method%20discrete%20structures%20logic%20and%20computabilit&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hein</a> (407-408) states that Quine's method &quot;...uses <a href="http://vh216602.truman.edu/agarvey/cs291/section6.2.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">these</a> (14) properties together with basic equivalences to determine whether a wff is a tautology, a contradiction, or a contingency.&quot; The idea is to substitute atoms in a propositional logic well-formed formula with true or false, and reduce it down to T or F which determines its truth meaning. I know how to do it, but the issue is: where does this <em>come</em> from? I've searched high and low across the internet to see where this originates, but all sources point back to the Hein book. Did he invent this? If so, why is it called Quine's method?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-18T03:45:47.930Z
It is likely from Frege. It also appears in Wittgenstein's Tractus iirc.
Kaveh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-18T03:49:07.527Z
I think you would have a better chance with questions like this on MathOverflow (use logic and history tags).
Kaveh
<lo.logic>
Where does "Quine's Method" in propositional logic originate?
Joshua Crotts
# Where does "Quine's Method" in propositional logic originate?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-07-17)

[Hein](https://books.google.com/books?id=JHlJNHzgB1MC&pg=PA408&lpg=PA408&dq=Quine%27s+method+discrete+structures+logic+and+computabilit&source=bl&ots=ZbwqhfFtw-&sig=ACfU3U0AZSEiHOL90dpa5MOo0NLS3TDL1g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjo7OCB8ejxAhVyUt8KHc4JBBoQ6AEwBnoECBkQAw#v=onepage&q=Quine%27s%20method%20discrete%20structures%20logic%20and%20computabilit&f=false) (407-408) states that Quine's method "...uses [these](http://vh216602.truman.edu/agarvey/cs291/section6.2.pdf) (14) properties together with basic equivalences to determine whether a wff is a tautology, a contradiction, or a contingency." The idea is to substitute atoms in a propositional logic well-formed formula with true or false, and reduce it down to T or F which determines its truth meaning. I know how to do it, but the issue is: where does this *come* from? I've searched high and low across the internet to see where this originates, but all sources point back to the Hein book. Did he invent this? If so, why is it called Quine's method?

**Tags:** lo.logic

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It is likely from Frege. It also appears in Wittgenstein's Tractus iirc.  
> **username_1**: I think you would have a better chance with questions like this on MathOverflow (use logic and history tags).  

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