Logical Positivism

by Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell

Logical Positivism and Analytical Philosophy (1910–1940s)

The first phase of the linguistic turn was driven by the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell, who focused on the logical analysis of language. They believed that the primary task of philosophy was to clarify thoughts through the precise structuring of language, thereby eliminating ambiguities and uncertainties in statements. Wittgenstein, in his book “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus” (1921), famously stated:

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”

This approach led to the understanding of philosophy as a linguistic activity, aiming to distinguish between meaningful and meaningless statements.

A well-known anecdote about Wittgenstein’s poker also illustrates his approach to the philosophy of language. One day, he threw a poker into the fire, comparing philosophy to this tool. He remarked that philosophy is needed to pull us out of philosophical problems, just as a poker is used to move logs stuck in the fireplace. But once the work is done, the tool can be discarded. This story highlights Wittgenstein’s belief that philosophy should help us clearly see problems rather than entangle us further in them.

positivism linguistics language philosophy meaning