Table Of ContentREADINGS
IN
PHILOSOPHICAL
ANALYSIS
SELECTED AND EDITED BY
HERBERT FEIGL and WILFRID SELLARS
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
university OP MINNESOTA
New York
APPLETON - CENTURY- CROFTS, INC.
Copyright, 1949, by
APPLETON-CENTURY-CROFTS, INC
All rights reserved. This book, or parts
thereof, must not be reproditced in any
form voithout permission of the publisher,
528-4
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PREFACE
One of the perennial complaints of philosophy teachers has concerned
the dearthofreadilyaccessibleandworthwhile reading materialinmodern
philosophical analysis. As a first step toward improving this situation we
have prepared the present volume of selections. Our idea was this: In the
tremendous bulk of the periodical literature of recent decades, there is a
small percentage of articles definitely worthy of reproduction in an an-
thology. This material required only proper grouping to provide a usable
textfor intermediate and advanced courses or seminars.
Theprojectinpreliminaryformwaspresentedbycircularlettertoabout
We
ninety teachers of philosophy in this country and in England. asked
forresponses to ourproposedselections, thatis, endorsements or rejections
We
of titles contained in a list of about 130 items. also asked for recom-
mendations of valuable material that we might have overlooked. We are
pleased to acknowledge with sincere gratitude the enthusiastic and most
helpful reactions received from an impressive majority of our correspond-
ents. Because of the limitations of space we had to exclude, with a heavy
heart, several excellent articles by authors from whom we had already ob-
tained permission forreprinting.
Withtheexceptionofaveryfewcasesinwhichitseemed clearfromthe
beginningthatanarticle belongedin ourcollection,we have pondered our
choices seriously and long. In many instances it was extremely difficult
forustomakeup ourminds. The exclusionofany article whichwas either
on our original list or had been recommended by our friends was painful;
and here, as everywhere, to choose is to exclude. Recognizing in the end
that it would be impossible to make our choices coincide with the valua-
tionsofallprospectiveusersofthisbook,wecan onlypleadthatwithinthe
givenaims andlimitationswe haveselectedwhat, aftercountless considera-
tions, comparisons and consultations seemed the most suitable body of
material available forreprinting.
We
have been guided in our selections on the whole by the reactions
andsuggestions ofour correspondents. Since some of our own articles met
with a very favorable reaction, we felt it would not appear presumptuous
toincludethem.Generallyourtendencywasnotto concentrateexclusively
on the work of the great and the famous thinkers, but rather to select on
the basis of didactic effectiveness. Clarity, pertinence, incisiveness of pre-
sentation, intelligibility independent of too high a degree of technical
V
VI PREFACE
—
knowledge, integration into the total pattern of the contents these were
the essential criteriaforour choices.
The conception of philosophical analysis underlying our selections
springs fromtwomajor traditionsinrecentthought, the Cambridge move-
ment deriving from Moore and Russell, and the Logical Positivism of the
Vienna Circle (Wittgenstein, Schlick, Carnap) together with the Scien-
tific Empiricism of the Berlin group (led by Reichenbach). These, to-
gether with related developments in America stemming from Realism and
Pragmatism, and the relatively independent contributions of the Polish
logicians have increasingly merged to create an approach to philosophical
problems which we frankly consider a decisive turn in the history of phi-
losophy. Althoughitisrealized thatthere are no sharp lines of demarcation
between this and other contemporary schools, we could not possibly have
attempted to represent them all.
Since the clearest and most helpful formulation of an idea is not always
the first in order of time, or historically the most representative, we have
paid relatively little attention to originality as a condition for inclusion. It
wasratherthe penetration,the finesse,andthechallenge oftheworkwhich
counted most. In some instances we succeeded in grouping together
divergent and mutually incompatible contributions around controversial
We
subjects. have tried to avoid definitely obsolete material. Certainly
up-to-date-ness in any significant sense is not a mere function of date of
publication. Frege, one of whose contributions we included, and Peirce,
whoseworkisnotrepresented becauseitissoamplyavailable, havemore to
sayto usthanmany who arewritingtoday.
It did not seem required to add our own comments to the material pub-
lished.Theskillfulinstructorwillfindmanywaysinwhichto usethis book
We
to full advantage. have, however, provided a bibliography of further
readings, books as well as articles. If space had permitted, a good deal of
this material, or excerpts therefrom, would have been included. It is to a
large extent our original list together ^ith items suggested by our corre-
spondents.
Courses and seminars in Principles of Philosophy, Contemporary Phi-
losophy, Philosophical Analysis, Theory of Knowledge, Logical Theory,
Philosophy of Language, etc., should find ample material for reading and
discussion inthis anthology. Although somebasic articles in Philosophy of
Science, Modern Logic, and Theoretical Ethics have been included, we
can conceive of additional volumes of selections, very much needed, irl
these special fields. We express the hope that others will consider work on
anthologies along those lines. May we assure them that such work, while
arduous, is atleastintrinsically rewarding.
H.F.
W.S.
ACKNOWLE'DGEMENTS
We
express our deep appreciation to the authors ofthe articles included
in this anthology for their kind permission to reprint, either in full or by
way of excerpt or adaptation, the material here presented. Our gratitude
is also extended to the original editors and publishers of these articles for
their friendly cooperation. Specific acknowledgement is made on the first
page ofeach selection.
vii
11
CONTENTS
.... FAGS
Preface v
. .
INTRODUCTION
Logical Empiricism H, Feigl
3
LANGUAGE^ MEANING, AND TRUTH
7
.
Is Existence a Predicate.^ .... W. C. Kneale 29
Designation and Existence . . W.V. Quine 44
The Semantic Conception of Truth A, Tarski 52
On Sense and Nominatum G, Frege 85
On Denoting B, Russell 103
MEANINGFULNESS AND CONFIRMATION
77.
Truth and Confirmation R. Carnap 119
Experience and Meaning C. /. Lenjois 128
Meaning and Verification M. Schlick 146
...
Messrs. Schlick and Ayer on Immortality F. C. Aldrich 17
...
Pictorial Meaning and Picture Think.in.g .. F, C. Aldrich 175
The Scientific World-Perspective K. Ajdukiewicz 182
THE NATURE OF LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS
777.
....
Logic Without Ontology E. Nagel igi
The Relevance of Psychology to Logic F. Wamnann 21
. . .
On the Nature of Mathematical Truth . . . . C. G. Hempel 222
Geometry and Empirical Science C. G. Hempel 238
Truth by Convention PF. F. Quine 250
7F. IS THERE SYNTHETIC A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE?
......
Is There a Factual a Priori? M. Schlick 277
.
The Pragmatic Conception of the a Priori C. L Lewis 286
. , . ,
ix
X CONTENTS
INDUCTION AND PROBABILITY
V.
FACE
The Logical Character of the Principle of Induction H. Feigl 297
The Logical Foundations of the Concept of Probability
H. Reichenbach 305
On the Justification of Induction H. Reichenbach 324
The Two Concepts of Probability R- Carnap 330
VI. DATA, REALITY, AND THE MIND-BODY PROBLEM
Hume’s Philosophy G. E. Moore 351
.
The Refutation of Realism W. T. Stace 364
.
The Logical Analysis of Psychology . C. G. Hempel 373
Some Logical Considerations Concerning the Mental C. I. Lewis 385
On the Relation Between Psychological and Physical Concepts
M. Schlick 393
Logical Foundations of the Unity of Science R. Carnap 408
. .
Realism and the New Way of Words . . W. S. Sellars 424
PROBLEMS OF DESCRIPTION AND EXPLANATION
VII.
IN THE EMPIRICAL SCIENCES
The Function of General Laws in History . . C. G. Hempel 459
The “Nature” of a Continuant .... C.D. Broad 472
The Contrary-to-Fact Conditional .... R. M. Chisholm 482
Operationism and Scientific Method H. Feigl 498
.
Some Remarks on the Meaning of Scientific Explanation H. Feigl 510
Causality in Everyday Life and in Recent Science . M. Schlick 515
Mechanical and Teleological Causation .... .. . C. A. Mace 534
Explanation, Mechanism, and Teleolo^ C. /. Ducasse 540
PROBLEMS OF THEORETICAL ETHICS
F//7.
Some of the Main Problems of Ethics . C. D. Broad 547
Review of Julian S. Huxley’s Evolutionary Ethics C. D. Broad 564
The Nature of Ethical Disagreement ... .. . C. L. Stevenson 587
The Freedom of the Will
The University of California Associates 594
SUGGESTED FURTHER READINGS
Books 619
Articles 621
INTRODUCTION
