Nelson Goodman

Nelson Goodman – Life, Philosophy, and Memorable Quotes

Explore the life, ideas, and influential quotes of Nelson Goodman (1906–1998), the American philosopher whose work on induction, symbolism, and “worldmaking” reshaped analytic philosophy.

Introduction

Nelson Goodman (August 7, 1906 – November 25, 1998) was a leading figure in 20th-century analytic philosophy, whose work spanned logic, epistemology, aesthetics, philosophy of science, metaphysics, and philosophy of language. He challenged conventional notions of truth, representation, and induction, and argued that we construct worlds through symbolic systems. His provocative insights into “projectible predicates,” “irrealism,” and the symbolic structure of art continue to influence philosophy, cognitive science, and aesthetics.

Early Life & Education

Goodman was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, to parents Sarah Elizabeth (née Woodbury) and Henry Lewis Goodman. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in 1928. While working toward graduate study, he managed an art gallery in Boston from 1929 to 1940, a period that cultivated his interest in aesthetics. In 1941, he completed his Ph.D. in philosophy at Harvard, with a dissertation titled A Study of Qualities.

During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army as a psychologist.

After the war, Goodman embarked on an academic career:

• He taught at the University of Pennsylvania from 1946 to 1964, where some of his students included Noam Chomsky, Hilary Putnam, and Stephen Stich.

• In 1968 he became a Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University.

• Between 1962 and 1963 he was at the Harvard Center for Cognitive Studies.

• He also founded Project Zero at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, a research initiative in artistic cognition and education.

Goodman died on November 25, 1998, in Needham, Massachusetts.

Philosophical Contributions & Key Ideas

Nelson Goodman’s work is diverse and technically rich. Below are some of his major contributions and themes.

The New Riddle of Induction

One of Goodman’s best-known and most discussed contributions is the “new riddle of induction,” introduced in Fact, Fiction, and Forecast. He challenged the traditional problem of induction by creating predicates like “grue” and “bleen”:

• “Grue”: an object is “grue” if it is observed before time t and is green, or if observed after time t and is blue.

• Goodman showed that all past emeralds are both green and grue under this definition, so the evidence equally supports “All emeralds are green” and “All emeralds are grue.”

• The puzzle: Why do we accept “green” as a lawlike predicate but not “grue”? What makes a predicate projectible?

• Goodman’s answer hinges on entrenchment of predicates (how often predicates have been successfully used in past inductions) and normative principles about which generalizations we accept.

This “new riddle” sharpened debates in philosophy of science about confirmation, lawlikeness, and induction.

Nominalism, Mereology, & The Calculus of Individuals

Goodman was a nominalist: he rejected abstract universals or classes as metaphysically real, preferring to build ontology in terms of individuals and parts (mereology). In collaboration with Henry S. Leonard, he developed a calculus of individuals (1940) that aimed to do ontology without sets. His variant of mereology is often described as ontologically “neutral” and avoids commitment to classes or sets.

Philosophy of Symbolism & Aesthetics – Languages of Art & Ways of Worldmaking

Goodman’s aesthetic and symbolic theory is central to his legacy:

• In Languages of Art (1968), he analyzed how symbols function in various representational systems (painting, music, language). He distinguished denotation (literal reference) and exemplification (showing a property) and rejected simple resemblance models of representation.

• In Ways of Worldmaking (1978), Goodman developed the idea that we make worlds by constructing symbolic systems or descriptions, rather than merely discovering a single “world out there.” Different but coherent “world versions” may be built from different symbolic vocabularies.

• These works express a kind of irrealism: the view that there is no single, privileged “world,” but multiple legitimate ways of organizing, describing, and constructing reality.

Goodman also focused on issues of style, metaphor, aesthetic judgment, and how symbol systems shape what we see (not just what we say).

Other Topics

Goodman’s interests also extended to counterfactual conditionals, metaphysics, philosophy of science, and the structure of appearance. Over his career, he published influential books including:

• The Structure of Appearance (1951)

• Fact, Fiction, and Forecast (1955)

• Problems and Projects (1972)

• Of Mind and Other Matters (1984)

• Reconceptions in Philosophy and other Arts and Sciences (with Catherine Elgin) (1988)

• Ways of Worldmaking (1978)

Influences & Legacy

Goodman’s work influenced philosophers across logic, epistemology, aesthetics, and education. His student roster includes Hilary Putnam, Sydney Morgenbesser, Stephen Stich, and others.

He helped found Project Zero, which continues to influence educational theory and arts education.

Goodman’s puzzles—especially the new riddle of induction—and his pluralistic, symbol-centered philosophy remain staples in philosophy curricula. His ideas challenge us to think about how conceptual vocabularies shape reality, not just reflect it.

Memorable Quotes

Here are several representative quotes that capture Goodman’s voice and themes:

“We make versions, and true versions make worlds.”
“We aim at simplicity and hope for truth.”
“Coming to understand a painting or a symphony in an unfamiliar style … is as cognitive an achievement as learning to read or write or add.”
“Rules and particular inferences alike are justified by being brought into agreement with each other. A rule is amended if it yields an inference we are unwilling to accept; an inference is rejected if it violates a rule we are unwilling to amend.”
“If we are ready to tolerate everything as understood, there is nothing left to explain; while if we sourly refuse to take anything, even tentatively, as clear, no explanation can be given.”
“I am concerned, rather, that there should not be more things dreamt of in my philosophy than there actually are in heaven and earth.”
“What intrigues us as a problem, and what will satisfy us as a solution, will depend upon the line we draw between what is already clear and what needs to be clarified.”

These reflect his balance between rigor and openness, his awareness of the boundaries of clarity, and his skepticism of absolute foundations.

Lessons from Goodman’s Thought

From Goodman’s life and philosophy, we can draw enduring lessons:

1. Worlds are made, not discovered
   The symbols, languages, and theories we adopt actively shape the world we inhabit, not just mirror it.

2. Questions matter more than answers
   Goodman showed that puzzles (like the “grue” paradox) force us to examine the assumptions underlying induction, law, and projectibility.

3. Pluralism over monism
   Rather than seeking a single “true” description, embrace plural but coherent vocabularies, each useful in its domain.

4. Simplicity is a guiding aim, not a guarantee
   “We aim at simplicity and hope for truth” suggests that simpler theories are preferred, but are not automatically correct.

5. Aesthetics and logic intertwine
   Goodman bridged art and philosophy, showing that representation, style, and symbolic systems deserve philosophical scrutiny.

6. Philosophy should be reflective but not overreaching
   His concern that philosophy not dream more than what is in heaven or earth warns us against speculative excess.

Conclusion

Nelson Goodman was a philosopher of daring vision and technical subtlety. He challenged how we think about induction, representation, symbolism, and the nature of reality. Rather than to uncover a singular “true world,” he invites us to see that we habitually create worlds through language, art, and theory—and to take responsibility for those creations. His legacy is a rich, provocative body of work that continues to provoke and enlighten.