Philosophy and Logical Positivism

Michele Marsonet

doi:10.7336/academicus.2019.19.02

Authors

Michele Marsonet University of Genoa, Italy 0000-0002-1534-3001

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7336/academicus.2019.19.02

Abstract

Logical positivists claim that the whole of human knowledge can be reduced to analytic and synthetic sentences, and this means that the only possible knowledge is provided by science. Metaphysics is thus meaningless, because its sentences do not comply with the rules set forth by logical analysis of language. What, then, is the philosopher’s job? The members of the Vienna Circle answer that his task is to clarify the concepts used within empirical and formal sciences, while analytic philosophers stress instead the importance of ordinary language’s analysis. But the outcome is in both cases clear: philosophy is linguistic analysis. Howeber, by reducing the whole of reality to empirical reality, logical positivists do metaphysics. We do not have the “elimination” of metaphysics, but just the proposal of an empiricist brand of metaphysics.

Keywords:

Logical positivism, Metaphysics, Vienna Circle, Analytic philosophy

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References

Ayer, A.J. (1990), Language, Truth and Logic, Penguin Books, London, 1990. The book was first published in 1936.
Carnap, R. (1959), “The Elimination of Metaphysics Through Logical Analysis of Language”, English translation in A.J. Ayer, ed., Logical Positivism, The Free Press, New York, 1959, pp. 60-81. The original German version, “Überwindung der Metaphysik durch
Marsonet, Michele. “Post-Empiricism and Philosophy of Science.” Academicus International Scientific Journal 18 (2018): 26-33.
Marsonet, Michele. “Logic and its Pragmatic Aspects.” Academicus International Scientific Journal 17 (2018): 46-53.