PHIL 50.43 Origins of Analytic Philosophy

Analytic philosophy, as a philosophical movement, took shape at the turn of the twentieth century, in the work of figures such as Frege, Russell, Moore, and Wittgenstein. These thinkers rejected the prevailing idealist tradition in philosophy in favor of a more realist conception of truth, judgement, knowledge, and objectivity. They also placed great emphasis on the logical analysis of language and thought. This led them to a distinctive philosophical method in which logic is the heart of theoretical philosophy. Many of the early analytic philosophers were deeply concerned with the foundations of mathematics and the relationships between logic, mathematics, and empirical knowledge. This course serves as an introduction to the early analytic tradition and attempts to grasp its breadth, originality, and—in some cases—strangeness. We will also consider whether the projects of the early analytic philosophers are still viable today.

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Dist:TMV

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Department-Specific Course Categories

Philosophy