The central flaw in the idea that only verifiable, empirical statements are meaningful. The hard problem is that the core principle of positivism—"only statements verified by empirical observation are meaningful"—is itself not verifiable by empirical observation. It's a metaphysical claim about meaning, making it self-refuting. It tries to use philosophy to declare philosophy useless, like using a ladder to climb up and then kicking it away.
Example: "The old-school positivist declared ethics and art 'nonsense' because they couldn't be tested in a lab. The hard problem of positivism was that his own declaration was, by his own standard, nonsense. He was left silently judging everyone with a philosophy he claimed didn't exist."
by Abzugal January 30, 2026
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