logical atomism
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Logical atomism is a philosophical view, chiefly associated with Bertrand Russell and early Ludwig Wittgenstein, which holds that the world consists of logically independent atomic facts that can be represented by a logically ideal language.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
analytic philosophy position
ⓘ
metaphysical doctrine ⓘ philosophical theory ⓘ theory of language ⓘ |
| aimsAt |
constructing an ideal logically perspicuous language
ⓘ
eliminating metaphysical confusion through logical analysis ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
ⓘ
analytic philosophy ⓘ early Ludwig Wittgenstein ⓘ logical positivism ⓘ |
| contrastsWith |
absolute idealism
ⓘ
holistic metaphysics ⓘ monism ⓘ |
| coreClaim |
a logically ideal language can represent atomic facts
ⓘ
analysis of propositions reveals their atomic components ⓘ atomic facts are logically independent of one another ⓘ complex facts are built from atomic facts ⓘ logical form underlies meaningful propositions ⓘ propositions correspond to facts in the world ⓘ the structure of language mirrors the structure of reality ⓘ the world consists of atomic facts ⓘ |
| criticizedBy |
Willard Van Orman Quine
ⓘ
surface form:
W.V.O. Quine
later Ludwig Wittgenstein ⓘ ordinary language philosophy ⓘ |
| criticizedFor |
assumption of simple, unanalyzable objects
ⓘ
reliance on a fixed ideal language ⓘ |
| developedBy |
Bertrand Russell
ⓘ
Ludwig Wittgenstein ⓘ |
| developedInPeriod | early 20th century ⓘ |
| field |
logic
ⓘ
metaphysics ⓘ philosophy of language ⓘ |
| holdsThat |
elementary propositions depict atomic facts
ⓘ
logical constants do not name objects ⓘ names in an ideal language refer to simple objects ⓘ the world is the totality of facts, not of things ⓘ |
| influenced |
Vienna Circle
ⓘ
early analytic philosophy ⓘ logical positivism ⓘ picture theory of meaning ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Gottlob Frege
ⓘ
empiricism ⓘ modern logic ⓘ set theory ⓘ |
| mainProponent |
Bertrand Russell
ⓘ
Ludwig Wittgenstein ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
atomic fact
ⓘ
elementary proposition ⓘ logical form ⓘ picture theory of language ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
The limits of my language mean the limits of my world