• Korean Journal of Logic
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.233-271
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• 2013

Quinean "ontology" mislead us because it has been used ambiguously even in his single article. It can mean what there is, ie. ontological states of affairs, on what there is, ie. a study of them, or on on what there is, ie. meta-ontology. So it is natural to be confused when we try to fully understand what does Quine do by talking about ontological commitment and criterion of it. We will discriminate these ontologies, and clarity the scope and the task of ontology as a discipline. Ontology is on what there is, meta-ontology is a study on ontology. Ontological commitment is a kind of ontological assertion within ontology, the criterion of ontological commitment is located in meta-ontological level. As a result of this clarification, we can remove some obstacles to get a good grip on Quinean criterion of ontological commitment. Also, we are able to recognize ontological descent, the way by which Quinean substantive ontology proceed.