Analytic Philosophy
The tradition from Frege and Russell onward — logical analysis, linguistic precision, and formal methods applied to philosophical problems. Dominant in Anglophone academia.
Sub-topics
The formalization of reasoning using mathematical methods. From Frege's predicate calculus through Russell's logicism to Godel's incompleteness. The foundation of analytic philosophy and computer science.
The Vienna Circle (1920s-30s): Schlick, Carnap, Neurath. Verification principle — a statement is meaningful only if empirically verifiable or analytically true. Metaphysics is literally nonsensical. Hugely influential, then dismantled by Quine and others.
Oxford philosophy of the 1940s-60s: Austin, Ryle, Strawson. Philosophical problems arise from misunderstanding how language ordinarily works. 'Don't ask for the meaning, ask for the use.' Later Wittgenstein's inheritance.
What is the mind? Behaviorism (Ryle), identity theory (Smart), functionalism (Putnam), eliminativism (Churchlands). The hard problem of consciousness (Chalmers). Chinese Room (Searle). Central to AI debates.
What makes science scientific? Demarcation, explanation, theory change, realism vs anti-realism. From the Vienna Circle through Popper's falsificationism to Kuhn's paradigm shifts and Lakatos's research programmes.
Moral philosophy in the analytic tradition. Meta-ethics (what is moral language?), normative ethics (what should we do?), applied ethics. From Moore's naturalistic fallacy to Rawls's justice and Singer's effective altruism.