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'''Neurath's boat''' (or '''Neurath's ship''') is a [[simile]] used in [[anti-foundationalism|anti-foundational]] accounts of [[knowledge]], especially in the [[philosophy of science]]. It was first formulated by [[Otto Neurath]]. It is based in part on the [[Ship of Theseus]] which, however, is standardly used to illustrate other philosophical questions, to do with problems of [[identity (philosophy)|identity]].<ref name=ONPSP>{{cite book|ref=harv|title=Otto Neurath: Philosophy Between Science and Politics|volume=38|series=Ideas in Context|first1=Nancy|last1=Cartwright|authorlink1=Nancy Cartwright (philosopher) |first2=Jordi|last2=Cat|first3=Lola|last3=Fleck|first4=Thomas E.|last4=Uebel|authorlink4=Thomas Uebel|location=Cambridge, UK; New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|isbn=9780521041119|oclc=231660530|doi=10.1017/CBO9780511598241.004|chapter=On Neurath's Boat|pages=89–94}}</ref> It was popularised by [[Willard Van Orman Quine]] in ''[[Word and Object]]'' (1960).
Neurath used the simile in several occasions,<ref name=ONPSP/><ref name=antispengler>{{cite book |last=Neurath |first=Otto |chapter=Anti-Spengler |orig-year=1921 |doi=10.1007/978-94-010-2525-6_6 |oclc=780516135 |isbn=978-90-277-0259-3 |series=Vienna Circle Collection |volume=1 |title=Empiricism and Sociology |location=Dordrecht |publisher=D. Reidel |date=1973 |pages=158–213 |ref=harv}}</ref> the first being in Neurath's text "Problems in War Economics" (1913). In "Anti-Spengler" (1921) Neurath wrote:
{{quote|We are like sailors who on the open sea must reconstruct their ship but are never able to start afresh from the bottom. Where a beam is taken away a new one must at once be put there, and for this the rest of the ship is used as support. In this way, by using the old beams and driftwood the ship can be shaped entirely anew, but only by gradual reconstruction.<ref name=antispengler/>}}
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