Logical atomism is partly understood as a developed alternative to logical holism, or the monistic logic of idealists, on which logical analysis is a kind of falsification. Thus russells logical atomism is atomistic insofar as, as he puts it, i share the commonsense belief that there are many separate things. Russells logical atomism is a resultant product of his philosophy of mathematics. More generally, russell s lectures on our knowledge of the external world 1914 and logical atomism 1918 offered a comprehensive view of reality and our knowledge of it. Certainly, one could have an ontology other than russells logical atomism that consists of many separate things. Facts and propositions, the philosophy of logical atomism, in the monist 28 oct 1918, 495509 2 source. According to russell, a fact is a kind of complex, and depends for its existence on the simpler entities making it up. Librivox recording of the philosophy of logical atomism by bertrand russell. The philosophy of logical atomism quotes showing 12 of 2 my desire and wish is that the things i start with should be so obvious that you wonder why i spend my time stating them.
Elkind the philosophy of logical atomism is a series of lectures by bertrand russell 18721970 that touches on numerous topics, including the nature of propositions, the relations of propositions to facts and of different types of words to the varieties of things, what kinds of. Feb 06, 2017 bertrand russell, philosophy of logical atomism, the analytic tradition, spring 2017. Ordinary language certainly permits the attribution of a common predicate to more than one subject. You can also read more about the friends of the sep society. These two positions to my mind are irreconcilable, since the second, as i understand it, contradicts the first flatly russell, bertrand, logical atomism, lk, p. Russell though that every fact contained at least one universal. What there is of bertrand russell s the philosophy of logical atomism 1918, printed in his book, logic and knowledge macmillan, new york. Russell employed the term logical atomism for his own philosophy when it was heavily under the influence of wittgenstein, and it came to be also applied to the tractatus. In russells opinion, what makes it appropriate to speak of logical atomism is that the atoms in question are to be arrived at by logical rather than physical analysis russell 1956, 179. Bertrand russell made use of logic as an analytical tool from the start of his philosophical career and early on adopted a metaphysics that can be called atomism in opposition to monism. On that view the building blocks of reality were terms e. Russell was the first to use the term logical atomism. In the philosophy of logical atomism, a monograph published in 191819, russell gave credit to wittgenstein for supplying many of the theories contained in it. Logical atomism definition, a philosophy developed from linguistic analysis asserting that a proposition can be analyzed into simple, independent elements of meaning corresponding to elements making up basic facts about the world and reality.
Theories on the subject the theme of this paper was inspired by studies related to the subject of my doctoral dissertation, and, more specifically, by the work of a. Russell, negative facts, and ontology deep blue university of. Its principal exponent was the british philosopher bertrand russell. We will examine this later, but this seems to di er from russells conception of atomic facts, as expressed in the quote above. The philosophy of logical atomism is an article from the monist, volume 29. The second part merges into pure mathematics, whose propositions. Bertrand russells the philosophy of logical atomism. In the philosophy of logical atomism, given as a series of lectures in the winter of.
The lectures, titled the philosophy of logical atomism, were published in pairs in four issues of the monist from 19181919. In the philosophy of logical atomism, given as a series of lectures in the winter of 191718 and republished in this volume, russell says that his reason for calling his doctrine logical atomism is because. It is also widely held that the early work the tractatus and pretractatus writings of his austrianborn pupil and colleague, ludwig wittgenstein, defend a version of logical atomism. Against a background of criticism of alternative accounts, professor hochberg presents an analysis of thought, reference, and truth within the tradition of logical atomism. To view the pdf, you must log in or become a member. A history of philosophy 74 bertrand russell logical atomism connect with wheaton. Logical atomism, theory, developed primarily by the british logician bertrand russell and the austrianborn philosopher ludwig wittgenstein, proposing that language, like other phenomena, can be analyzed in terms of aggregates of fixed, irreducible units or elements. Wittgenstein had joined the austrian army when the war broke out, and russell had been out of contact with him ever read more. But even in mathematics he encountered doubts caused by. These summaries and problems deal with the last lecture viii.
Russell on logical constructions and logical atomism. But russell wasnt an advocate of verificationism which, in any case, has nothing to do with logical atomism. Logical atomism is a philosophy that originated in the early 20th century with the development of analytic philosophy. Bertrand russell, the philosophy of logical atomism, the monist 28, 29 oct 1918, jan, apr, jul 1919, 495527, 3363, 190222, 34580 1 introduction to lecture 1. Reinterpreting the classic and modern theories on the subject. Here we have one of the premisses of russells logical atom ism. Other articles where philosophy of logical atomism is discussed. The philosophy of logical atomism is a series of lectures by bertrand russell 18721970 that touches on numerous topics, including the nature of propositions, the relations of propositions to facts and of different types of words to the varieties of things, what kinds of facts there are, existence, monism and pluralism, and aspects of philosophical logic and of reference. Bertrand russell, russells logical atomism philpapers. Why did bertrand russell abandon the project of logical. The philosophy of logical atomism quotes by bertrand russell. Friedman on the same subject presented in their two recently published books.
Philosophy of logical atomism work by russell britannica. The philosophy of logical atomism by bertrand russell, 1985. Russell replied to the above by regarding simples and complexes as always of different types ibid. Russell april 35, 2011 a guiding principle of russell has been the epistemological problem of gaining secure knowledge. However, even if we accept the theory of types, we are still. Bertrand russell s the philosophy of logical atomism, 1918 provides an enormously more consistent,and coherent perspective of the essence of semantic atoms than any of jerry fodors ideas ever provided. Friedman on the same subject presented in their two recently published. Or, logical positivism or logical empiricism are sometimes used in a loose sense to refer to the general trend which encompasses these movements. The metaphysics of logical atomism bernard linsky may 12, 2000 bertrand russell made use of logic as an analytical tool from the start of his philosophical career and early on adopted a metaphysics that can be called atomism in opposition to monism.
Russell called his framework logical atomism because it consisted of. Russell himself went on to apply analytic methods to discussion of basic epistemological and metaphysical issues. Logical atomism supposes that a perfect onetoone correspondence exists between an atom of language an. Wittgenstein gives some deductive arguments for his components of this theory, such as his claims that everything is composed out of atoms. Russells logical atomism david bostock oxford university. Bertrand russell, philosophy of logical atomism, the analytic tradition, spring 2017. For wittgenstein too, the ultimate constituents of reality are to be revealed by a process of logical analysis.
Why did bertrand russell abandon the project of logical atomism. Russells logical atomism is set forth chiefly in his 1918 work the. Propositional ontology and logical atomism francisco rodrguez. In the philosophy of logical atomism, bertrand russell, with input from his young student ludwig wittgenstein, developed the concept and argues for a reformed. Logical atomism was an important influence on logical positivism, and logical positivism became the source for the most widespread and systematic articulation of the general philosophical trend involved all three of the aforementioned movements. The simplest sort of complex, an atomic fact, was thought to consist. Russells logical atomism had a profound influence on analytic. Russells logical atomism stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.
David bostock presents a critical appraisal of bertrand russell s philosophy from 1900 to 1924a period that is considered to be the most important in his career. This is what i aim at because the point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical. Classical greek atomism, for example, consisted of. Logical atomism definition of logical atomism by the free. Russells road to logical atomism i will start by picking up a thread i left hanging at the end of the last instalment by giving a very brief exposition of the theory known as platonic atomism. In the philosophy of logical atomism, given as a series of lectures in the winter of 191718 and republished in this volume,1 russell says that his reason for calling his doctrine logical atomism is because.
A history of philosophy 74 bertrand russell logical. Jun 16, 2015 a history of philosophy 74 bertrand russell logical atomism connect with wheaton. Logical atomism vs logical positivism vs logical monism. Metaphysically, logical atomism is the view that the world consists in a plurality of independent and discrete entities, which by coming together form facts. Russell developed his theory of logic from 1900 to 1910, and over those years wrote the famous work principia mathematica with a.
Ian proops, logical atomism in russell and wittgenstein. Among other things, logical atomism was part of russells realist. It is also widely held that the early work the tractatus and pre tractatus writings of his austrianborn pupil and colleague, ludwig wittgenstein, defend a. The ontology held by russell in former periods of his philosophy mainly. The philosophy of logical atomism by russell, bertrand.
David bostock presents a critical appraisal of bertrand russells philosophy from 1900 to 1924a period that is considered to be the most important in his career. Logical atomism definition of logical atomism by the. Bertrand russell s defence of the cosmological argument. Russells relations, wittgensteins objects, and the theory of types. What there is of bertrand russells the philosophy of logical atomism 1918, printed in his book, logic and knowledge macmillan, new york.
A history of philosophy 74 bertrand russell logical atomism. The logical atomism of bertrand russell abstract as can easily be seen, the impact of these three schools of contemporary philosophy the linguistic, the logical analytical, and the logical empiricist has been largely negative, critical, and destructive, especially with regard to theological beliefs, metaphysical systems, and value. Cocchiarella december 7, 2017 abstract logical analysis, according to bertrand russell, leads to and ends with logical atomism, an ontology of atomic facts that is epistemologically founded on sensedata, which russell claimed are mindindependent. Logical atomism and logical positivism thus refer to philosophies going on in two different places by two different groups of people. Logical atomism is a philosophy that sought to account for the world in all its various aspects by relating it to the structure of the language in which we articulate information.
Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. The name logical atomism is nevertheless useful for identifying a distinctive combination of. However, soamesargues that these arguments are unpersuasive see p. The lectures record the culmination of russells thinking in response to discussions with wittgenstein on the nature of judgment, philosophical analysis, and philosophy of logic, interaction with moore and other. These questions are about his early logical atomism approach to metaphysics. It is also widely held that the early work the tractatus and pretractatus writings of his austrianborn pupil and colleague, ludwig wittgenstein, defend a. Wittgensteins own version of logical atomism, presented in his difficult work tractatus logicophilosophicus. Moores early attack on idealism and examines the influence of moore on the development of bertrand russells and ludwig wittgensteins logical atomism. Pla, 178, but there really is much more to russells logical atomism than that. The philosophy of logical atomism edition 1 by bertrand. As mentioned above, the term logical atomism was first coined by russell in 1911.
Russell s relations, wittgensteins objects, and the theory of types. But there are significant relationships between them. Ian proops 2004 stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy 65. The philosophy of logical atomism by bertrand russell.
Wittgensteins logical atomism stanford encyclopedia of. The philosophy of logical atomism university of alberta. In on the relations of universals and particulars 1911, for example, russell used logical arguments to resolve the ancient problem of universals. Russells introduction of negative facts to account for the truth of negative sentences or. The theory holds that the world consists of ultimate logical facts or atoms that cannot be broken down any further, each of which can be understood independently of. The other answer here isnt about logical atomism but verificationism. The philosophy of logical atomism 1st edition bertrand. Its principal exponent was the british philosopher bertrand russell, it is widely held that the early work of his austrianborn pupil and colleague, ludwig wittgenstein, defend a version of logical atomism.