A HUNDRED YEARS OF ENGLISH PHILOSOPHY

Transcription

1 A HUNDRED YEARS OF ENGLISH PHILOSOPHY

2 PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES SERIES VOLUME94 Founded by Wilfrid S. Sellars and Keith Lehrer Editor Keith Lehrer, University of Arizona, Tucson Associate Editor Stewart Cohen, Arizona State University, Tempe Board of Consulting Editors Lynne Rudder Baker, University of Massachusetts at Amherst Radu Bogdan, Tulane University, New Orleans Marian David, University of Notre Dame Allan Gibbard, University of Michigan Denise Meyerson, Macquarie University Franc;ois Recanati, Institut Jean-Nicod, EHESS, Paris Stuart Silvers, Clemson University Barry Smith, State University of New York at Buffalo Nicholas D. Smith, Lewis & Clark College The titles published in this series are listed at the end of this volume.

3 A HUNDRED YEARS OF ENGLISH PHILOSOPHY by NIKOLAY MILKOV University of Bielefeld, Germany SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.

4 A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2003 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2003 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

5 To Sarah Tiffany

6 CONTENTS Preface Introduction 1. Objectives and Authors 2. Oxbridge Circles and Schools ix 1 2 PART I: CAMBRIDGE ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY 1 G. E. Moore-The Project for a New Philosophy 1. Moore's Development in the Ambience of Cambridge Esoteric Philosophy Examination of Moore's Method Basic Points of Moore's Philosophy Tractatus Logico-Ethicus Epistemology and Truth First Theses of 'Analytical Scholastics' The Middle Moore The Later Moore Epilogue. Moore's Archimedean Point 43 2 Bertrand Russell-The New Method as a Logic 1. Russell Rejects Neo-Hegelianism The Turn of 1900 and Russell's Paradox The Point of Russell's Theory of Descriptions 59 4 Russell's Theory of Names The Historical Context of Russell's Theory of Descriptions Logic as the Organon of Philosophy Russell's Logic as Calculus Ratiocinator Epistemology and Ontology 78 3 Ludwig Wittgenstein-Logical Meditations 1. Wittgenstein's Method and System Logical Meditations Objects, States of Affairs, Propositions Implicit Metaphysics and Epistemology The Creative Turn The Dynamic Turn Was Wittgenstein a Philosopher of Language? 113 PART II: OXFORD ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY 4 Gilbert Ryle-The Analytical Method Explained 1. First Theses in Philosophy 2. Pursuit of Philosophical Logic 3. The Method of Mind 4. Ryle's Philosophical Psychology 5. Conceptual Examination 6. Ryle's Plato 7. The Unrealised Project on Thinking

7 Vlll 5 J. L. Austin-Analytical Philosophy as a Strict Science 1. Introduction 2. The Pre-War Austin 3. The Turn of Radical Epistemology 5. Linguistic Phenomenology 6. Austin as a Philosopher 7. Linguistic Phenomenology Applied 8. Doing Things with Words 9. 'Philosophical Fun' 6 P. F. Strawson-The Justificational Turn 1. Forming Philosophical Intuitions 2. Strawson's 'Logical Neo-Traditionalism' 3. Influences 4. The Problem of Individuals 5. Reconstruction of Strawson' s Scheme of Individuals 6. Logical Subjects 7. Subject and Predicate Again 8. Strawson's 'Dilemmas' 7 Michael Dummett-Revision of the Project 1. Dummett's Approach 2. Impacts 3. Frege's Philosophy of Language 4. Frege's Philosophy of Mathematics 5. Basic Ideas 6. Dummett's Philosophy of Language 7. Theory of Meaning 8. Dummett's Philosophy of Mathematics Bibliography Index of Names Index of Concepts

8 Preface This book is a historical investigation of the leading philosophical movement in England in the twentieth century. In seven chapters, the intellectual development of the most prominent representatives of analytic philosophy-moore, Russell and Wittgenstein in Cambridge, and Ryle, Austin, Strawson and Dummett in Oxford-is traced. The book does not aim, however, at delivering a story. This means, above all, that generalisations and conclusions are reduced to a minimum-an approach adopted in an endeavour to avert the danger of subjectivism that interpreting the philosophers under scrutiny would impose. My hope is that by following this aproach, my investigation will stimulate readers to make their own generalisations and conclusions on the basis of the objectively presented data. Instead, my aim is to articulate a flawless, comprehensive description of the philosophical texts of the seven most significant analytic philosophers in England in the twentieth century. For this purpose, all their articles and books have been sifted through in order to pick out the most representative parts. For obvious reasons, only the chapters on Russell and Wittgenstein, and-to a lesser extent-the chapter on Moore, are more theoretical. My first objective is to cover as many themes and problems discussed by these seven authors as possible. In this way I strive to follow the main tenet of analytic philosophy: flawless analysis. The second objective of the book is to achieve a synoptic effect-to reveal the true picture (Gestalt) of twentieth-century analytic philosophy in England. For this purpose, I have placed the philosophers examined (or, rather, their philosophical texts) side by side, concentrating on exactly those points in them in which the development of not only new concepts and theories, but also new techniques and methods, can be traced in a chain of inter-dependence. Thus, my hope is that this investigation will provide a comprehensive review (ubersichtliche Darstellung) of the history of analytic philosophy in twentiethcentury England. And further, that it will be useful as a reference book both for analytic concepts-this is why I have prepared so extensive an Index of Conceptsand for further work on the arguments and theories that these philosophers discussed, or on their individual philosophies per se. In a more general perspective, the study can be seen as a cross between traditional books on the history of analytic philosophy in England (like those of Passmore, Urmson, Warnock, Hacker), and a kind of Dictionary of the Philosophical Works ofthe seven leading analytic philosophers in England in the twentieth century. The book is a modified version of my Bielefeld Habilitationsschrift, and I should like to express my gratitude to the members of the Habilitationskommission for their work. I am indebted also to Patricia Skorge and Stephen Ryan for help in polishing my English in this book. Most of all, however, I thank my wife Michaela-for her constant encouragement and inspiration. Bielefeld, 5 July 2002