A
major philosophical movement during the 20th century. Its wide influence became deeply rooted in
today's scientific practice, as well as in contemporary philosophy. Logical positivists were philosophers, scientists and mathematicians with varying philosophical ideas, although they shared the so-called "scientific world-view", which states that
society's choices and beliefs should be based on science, and that true science produces knowledge strictly inferred from empirical
data (i.e. what "appears to the senses" in some
way). The most well-known group of logical positivists is the Vienna
Circle.
The movement became dominant in philosophy during half of the 20th century, before losing its widespread popularity later on. Nowadays, though, logical positivism is increasingly studied in a more neutral manner,
like any influential doctrine in the
history of philosophy.
You are welcome to agree or disagree with the different views endorsed by logical positivists. What you are not invited to is parroting baloney spread by trolls or knowitalls on the
Internet.
Like the fact that logical positivism refutes itself. It’s not a fact, it’s a viewpoint coming essentially from philosopher Hilary Putnam and that criticized a doctrine (verificationism) already debated among the logical positivists themselves. If you share that view, read him plus some logical positivist papers (if you’re already familiar with the jargon), then think about it and be proud of yourself.
The other day, I read a post from some random dude on the
Internet. He enlightened me about how he refuted logical positivism by showing that it is itself meaningless. I'm amazed that dozens and dozens of well-trained philosophers/logicians during the 20th century never thought of that. Clearly, that guy is a
f*****g
genius.
