Logical Positism and the Vienna Circle

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Logical Positism and the Vienna Circle

Moritz Schlick and A.J. Ayer were both logical positivists, and members of the Vienna Circle. They had differing yet concentric views on the foundations of knowledge, and they both shared the quest for truth and certainty.

Moritz Schlick believed the all important attempts at establishing a theory of knowledge grow out of the doubt of the certainty of human knowledge. This problem originates in the wish for absolute certainty. A very important idea is the concept of "protocol statements", which are "...statements which express the facts with absolute simplicity, without any moulding, alteration, or addition, in whose elaboration every science consists, and which precede all knowing, every judgment regarding the world." (1) It makes no sense to speak of uncertain facts, only assertions and our knowledge can be uncertain. If we succeed therefore in expressing the raw facts in protocol statements without any contamination, these appear to be the absolutely indubitable starting points of all knowledge. They are again abandoned, but they constitute a firm basis "...to which all our cognitions owe whatever validity they may possess." (2) Math is stated indirectly into protocol statements which are resolved into definite protocol statements which one could formulate exactly, in principle, but with tremendous effort. Knowledge in life and science in some sense begins with confirmation of facts, and the protocol statements stand at the beginning of science. In the event that protocol statements would be distinguished by definite logical properties, structure, position in the system of science, and one would be confronted with the task of actually specifying these properties. We fin...

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... epistemology because one could discern better between an idea that holds more validity over a larger picture than another, rather than assuming that by deduction, they are false and have nothing to contribute. By "lining up" the false propositions by degree, we could be better pointed toward truth. I agree with both philosophers, and with Descartes, that our perception is something we must check on and constantly analyse, because inevitably, each of us will hold some truth and some falsity.

Bibliography:

Hanfling, Oswald, Logical Positivism (New York: Columbia University Press, 1981), p. 24-71. (I read this book and got some ideas, but no quotes)

Ayer, A.J. (editor), Logical Positivism (Illinois: Free Press, 1959), p. 209-227 (Schlick), 228-243 (Ayer).

1. Ayer, p. 210

2. Ayer, p. 212

3. Ayer, p. 229

4. Ayer, p. 231

5. Ayer, p. 232

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