Verificationist
Encyclopedia
Verificationism is the view that a statement or question is only legitimate if there is some way to determine whether the statement is true or false, or what the answer to the question is. It is a view mostly closely associated with the logical positivists
of the early twentieth century, who established and applied this doctrine to distinguish between meaningful and meaningless assertive sentences. However, the core idea of verificationism is much older, dating back at least to Hume
and the empiricists
, who believed that observation
was the only way we can acquire knowledge
.
Historically, the verificationist criterion has been used to render meaningless, false, unscientific, or in some other way illegitimate many philosophical debates, due to their positing of unverifiable statements or concepts. Notoriously, verificationism was used by the logical positivists to rule out as meaningless religious
, metaphysical
, aesthetic
, and ethical
sentences. However, not all verificationists have found all sentences of these types to be unverifiable. The classical pragmatists, for example, saw verificationism as a guide for doing good work in religion, metaphysics, and ethics.
back to Locke
could be treated as verificationists. The basic tenet of empiricism is that experience is our only source of knowledge and verificationism might be seen as simply a consequence of this tenet. Empiricists held that our ideas are either simple sense-perceptions or compilations and mixtures of these basic sense-perceptions. Reading this empiricist account, there does not seem to be any way for an idea to get into our heads without being connected to our perceptions and, thus, being connected to a means of verification.
The empiricists did not directly put forth a criterion of meaningfulness, but one could be seen as equivalent to the empiricists' claim that ideas not connected to experience are "empty". It is worth noting, however, that verificationism need not be a position about meaning. It could simply be the position that unverifiable sentences are defective in some way that is similar to how false sentences and meaningless sentences are defective. Empiricists could therefore be read as asserting that unverifiable sentences are defective not because they are meaningless, but because they contain terms standing for ideas/concepts that we cannot possibly possess. Or, the empiricist could be read as asserting the semantic position that unverifiable sentences are meaningless precisely because they contain terms standing for ideas/concepts that we cannot possibly acquire.
put forth a semantic position not about the meaninglessness of unverifiable sentences, but rather about the pointlessness of considering them since they cannot be verified. This sort of rejection of unverifiable sentences as useless rather than meaningless would reoccur in the work of the classical pragmatists alongside their semantic verificationism. Comte was a rather extreme verificationist, rejecting everything we cannot have direct experience of. This included statements about the past, universal generalizations
, as well as abstract object
s like universals
.
movement which had its roots
in inter-war Vienna.
While verificationism is not credited to A.J. Ayer, his work Language, Truth and Logic (1936) is one of the most widely known and read defenses of the verification principle and logical positivism generally. In that work, Ayer explains that the verificationist principle
puts forth a criterion for meaningfulness that requires a non-analytic, meaningful sentence
to be empirically
verifiable.
It was hotly disputed amongst the logical positivists whether the empirical verification itself must be possible in practice or merely in principle. A statement about the core of the sun might one day be possible to confirm through observations using a technology that hasn't been invented yet, but until then it may be unverifiable in all practical senses. Ayer also distinguished between strong and weak verification.
Strong verification refers to statements which are directly verifiable, that is, a statement can be shown to be correct by way of empirical observation. For example, 'There are human beings on Earth.'
Weak verification refers to statements which are not directly verifiable, for example 'Yesterday was a Monday'. The statement could be said to be weakly verified if empirical observation can render it highly probable.
William James
coined the famous verificationist motto: "There is no difference that doesn't make a difference."
rejected the requirement that meaningful sentences be verifiable, demanding instead that they be falsifiable. However, Popper later claimed that his demand for falsifiability was not meant as a theory of meaning, but rather as a methodological norm for the sciences. Often, and to Popper's dismay, he is grouped together with the verificationists rather than as a critic of verificationism.
is a famous example of a verificationist who does not accept logical positivism, on grounds of semantic holism
. He suggests that, for theoretical sentences as opposed to observation sentences, meaning is "infected by theory". That theoretical sentences are reducible to observation sentences is one of the ‘dogmas of empiricism’ he rejects as incompatible with semantic holism.
Others disagree:
do not aim at truth, but at empirical adequacy; and (2) that their acceptance involves a belief only that they are empirically adequate. A theory is empirically adequate if and only if everything that it says about observable entities is "true" (or well-established). Constructive empiricism therefore rejects unverifiable positions not because they lack truth or meaning, but because they go beyond what is needed to be empirically adequate.
offered an important alternative to van Fraassen's constructive empiricism with what he decided to playfully entitle the Natural Ontological Attitude (NOA). Fine holds that scientific anti-realists like van Fraassen beg the question
against scientific realists when they assume that in theory selection there do not exist reasons to select theories that go beyond what is needed to be empirically adequate. Fine argues that we can avoid this mistake by taking note of what antirealists and realists will both agree to: the reliability of our scientific theories. This recognition of common ground brings Fine to argue that instead of aiming at true scientific theories (as the realist does) or empirically adequate theories (as the constructive empiricist does), we should aim for scientific theories that are reliable for our purposes. Fine's position has an advantage over van Fraassen's constructive empiricism in that a NOAer has a ready-made explanation for why there is no reason to select theories that go beyond what is reliable for our purposes; namely, that such theories are irrelevant to our purposes. For this reason Fine is similar to the classical pragmatists from whom he takes inspiration.
--in trying to verify that something is a tree
, the term tree
is too vague to present any conclusive answer in some cases. The second is that of open texture
--even if it appears to be conclusively verified that something is not made of gold
, the definition of "gold" could change as to allow said object into the category. These criticisms were first presented by Friedrich Waismann
.
Logical positivism
Logical positivism is a philosophy that combines empiricism—the idea that observational evidence is indispensable for knowledge—with a version of rationalism incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of epistemology.It may be considered as a type of analytic...
of the early twentieth century, who established and applied this doctrine to distinguish between meaningful and meaningless assertive sentences. However, the core idea of verificationism is much older, dating back at least to Hume
David Hume
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
and the empiricists
Empiricism
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily via sensory experience. One of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism, idealism and historicism, empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence,...
, who believed that observation
Observation
Observation is either an activity of a living being, such as a human, consisting of receiving knowledge of the outside world through the senses, or the recording of data using scientific instruments. The term may also refer to any data collected during this activity...
was the only way we can acquire knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
.
Historically, the verificationist criterion has been used to render meaningless, false, unscientific, or in some other way illegitimate many philosophical debates, due to their positing of unverifiable statements or concepts. Notoriously, verificationism was used by the logical positivists to rule out as meaningless religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, aesthetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
, and ethical
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
sentences. However, not all verificationists have found all sentences of these types to be unverifiable. The classical pragmatists, for example, saw verificationism as a guide for doing good work in religion, metaphysics, and ethics.
Empiricism
All of the empiricistsEmpiricism
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily via sensory experience. One of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism, idealism and historicism, empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence,...
back to Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
could be treated as verificationists. The basic tenet of empiricism is that experience is our only source of knowledge and verificationism might be seen as simply a consequence of this tenet. Empiricists held that our ideas are either simple sense-perceptions or compilations and mixtures of these basic sense-perceptions. Reading this empiricist account, there does not seem to be any way for an idea to get into our heads without being connected to our perceptions and, thus, being connected to a means of verification.
The empiricists did not directly put forth a criterion of meaningfulness, but one could be seen as equivalent to the empiricists' claim that ideas not connected to experience are "empty". It is worth noting, however, that verificationism need not be a position about meaning. It could simply be the position that unverifiable sentences are defective in some way that is similar to how false sentences and meaningless sentences are defective. Empiricists could therefore be read as asserting that unverifiable sentences are defective not because they are meaningless, but because they contain terms standing for ideas/concepts that we cannot possibly possess. Or, the empiricist could be read as asserting the semantic position that unverifiable sentences are meaningless precisely because they contain terms standing for ideas/concepts that we cannot possibly acquire.
Positivism
Auguste ComteAuguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
put forth a semantic position not about the meaninglessness of unverifiable sentences, but rather about the pointlessness of considering them since they cannot be verified. This sort of rejection of unverifiable sentences as useless rather than meaningless would reoccur in the work of the classical pragmatists alongside their semantic verificationism. Comte was a rather extreme verificationist, rejecting everything we cannot have direct experience of. This included statements about the past, universal generalizations
Generalization (logic)
In mathematical logic, generalization is an inference rule of predicate calculus. It states that if \vdash P has been derived, then \vdash \forall x \, P can be derived....
, as well as abstract object
Abstract object
An abstract object is an object which does not exist at any particular time or place, but rather exists as a type of thing . In philosophy, an important distinction is whether an object is considered abstract or concrete. Abstract objects are sometimes called abstracta An abstract object is an...
s like universals
Nominalism
Nominalism is a metaphysical view in philosophy according to which general or abstract terms and predicates exist, while universals or abstract objects, which are sometimes thought to correspond to these terms, do not exist. Thus, there are at least two main versions of nominalism...
.
Logical Positivism
The verification principle is most associated with the logical positivistLogical positivism
Logical positivism is a philosophy that combines empiricism—the idea that observational evidence is indispensable for knowledge—with a version of rationalism incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of epistemology.It may be considered as a type of analytic...
movement which had its roots
Vienna Circle
The Vienna Circle was an association of philosophers gathered around the University of Vienna in 1922, chaired by Moritz Schlick, also known as the Ernst Mach Society in honour of Ernst Mach...
in inter-war Vienna.
While verificationism is not credited to A.J. Ayer, his work Language, Truth and Logic (1936) is one of the most widely known and read defenses of the verification principle and logical positivism generally. In that work, Ayer explains that the verificationist principle
Principle
A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...
puts forth a criterion for meaningfulness that requires a non-analytic, meaningful sentence
Sentence (linguistics)
In the field of linguistics, a sentence is an expression in natural language, and often defined to indicate a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that generally bear minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it...
to be empirically
Empiricism
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily via sensory experience. One of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism, idealism and historicism, empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence,...
verifiable.
It was hotly disputed amongst the logical positivists whether the empirical verification itself must be possible in practice or merely in principle. A statement about the core of the sun might one day be possible to confirm through observations using a technology that hasn't been invented yet, but until then it may be unverifiable in all practical senses. Ayer also distinguished between strong and weak verification.
Strong verification refers to statements which are directly verifiable, that is, a statement can be shown to be correct by way of empirical observation. For example, 'There are human beings on Earth.'
Weak verification refers to statements which are not directly verifiable, for example 'Yesterday was a Monday'. The statement could be said to be weakly verified if empirical observation can render it highly probable.
Pragmatism
Despite slightly pre-dating logical positivism, pragmatism had very little influence on the logical positivists and most attention paid to verificationism has been directed to the positivists. This is mostly because logical positivism, unlike pragmatism, held the possibility of dismissing whole disciplines like metaphysics, morality, and ethics. The pragmatists differed from the logical positivists in their hospitality to areas of knowledge that the positivists hoped their principle would undermine. The pragmatists did not want to rule out metaphysics, religion, or ethics with the verification principle; they wanted to provide a standard for conducting good metaphysics, religion, and ethics.William James
William James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
coined the famous verificationist motto: "There is no difference that doesn't make a difference."
Falsificationism
It is commonly believed that Karl PopperKarl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
rejected the requirement that meaningful sentences be verifiable, demanding instead that they be falsifiable. However, Popper later claimed that his demand for falsifiability was not meant as a theory of meaning, but rather as a methodological norm for the sciences. Often, and to Popper's dismay, he is grouped together with the verificationists rather than as a critic of verificationism.
Quine and the Dogmas of Empiricism (1951)
Verificationists need not be logical positivists. Willard Van Orman QuineWillard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition...
is a famous example of a verificationist who does not accept logical positivism, on grounds of semantic holism
Semantic holism
Semantic holism is a doctrine in the philosophy of language to the effect that a certain part of language, be it a term or a complete sentence, can only be understood through its relations to a larger segment of language. There is substantial controversy, however, as to exactly what the larger...
. He suggests that, for theoretical sentences as opposed to observation sentences, meaning is "infected by theory". That theoretical sentences are reducible to observation sentences is one of the ‘dogmas of empiricism’ he rejects as incompatible with semantic holism.
Wittgenstein and the Private Language Argument (1953)
Some interpretations of the Private Language argument see it as a form of verificationism. So for example, Misak claims that:
To say that P is a sentence in a private language is to say that there does not have to be any public consequences if P is true [....] But then 'P seems right to me' will always be a sufficient condition for 'P is right'. There is nothing that would count as evidence for or against the private linguist's claim that she is using a term in the same way or that she is picking out the same property by the term. Nothing would count as evidence to an observer and nothing would count as evidence to the speaker herself.
Others disagree:
As we have seen, a crucial part is played in the private-language argument by Wittgenstein's advice 'Always get rid of the idea of the private object in this way: assume that it constantly changes, but that you do not notice the change because your memory constantly deceives you.' This advice has a verificationist ring, and some philosophers have thought that the private-language argument depends, in the last analysis, on verificationist premises. But Wittgenstein's advice is not meant to be followed by the question 'How would you ever find out?' but by the question 'What possible difference would it make?' The private-language argument does indeed depend on premises carried forward from Wittgenstein's earlier philosophy; but they are not peculiar to the verificationist period of the 1930s but date back to the time of the picture theory of the proposition in the 1910s[.]
Bas van Fraassen and Constructive Empiricism (1980)
After the fall of logical positivism, verificationism and empiricism more generally lost many adherents. This trend was stopped and in large part reversed in 1980 with the publication of van Fraassen's The Scientific Image. Constructive empiricism states that (1) scientific theoriesScientific theory
A scientific theory comprises a collection of concepts, including abstractions of observable phenomena expressed as quantifiable properties, together with rules that express relationships between observations of such concepts...
do not aim at truth, but at empirical adequacy; and (2) that their acceptance involves a belief only that they are empirically adequate. A theory is empirically adequate if and only if everything that it says about observable entities is "true" (or well-established). Constructive empiricism therefore rejects unverifiable positions not because they lack truth or meaning, but because they go beyond what is needed to be empirically adequate.
Arthur Fine and the Natural Ontological Attitude (1986)
In 1986, Arthur FineArthur Fine
Arthur Fine is an American philosopher of science teaching at the University of Washington . Before moving to UW he taught for many years at Northwestern University and, before that, at Cornell University and the University of Illinois at Chicago...
offered an important alternative to van Fraassen's constructive empiricism with what he decided to playfully entitle the Natural Ontological Attitude (NOA). Fine holds that scientific anti-realists like van Fraassen beg the question
Beg the Question
Beg the Question is a graphic novel by Bob Fingerman. It chronicles the trials and tribulations of Rob, a squeamish freelance cartoonist/pornographer, and Sylvia, a beauty salon manager with loftier aspirations, with a supporting cast featuring Jack, an unhappily celibate literary stalker; Max, a...
against scientific realists when they assume that in theory selection there do not exist reasons to select theories that go beyond what is needed to be empirically adequate. Fine argues that we can avoid this mistake by taking note of what antirealists and realists will both agree to: the reliability of our scientific theories. This recognition of common ground brings Fine to argue that instead of aiming at true scientific theories (as the realist does) or empirically adequate theories (as the constructive empiricist does), we should aim for scientific theories that are reliable for our purposes. Fine's position has an advantage over van Fraassen's constructive empiricism in that a NOAer has a ready-made explanation for why there is no reason to select theories that go beyond what is reliable for our purposes; namely, that such theories are irrelevant to our purposes. For this reason Fine is similar to the classical pragmatists from whom he takes inspiration.
Criticisms
It is frequently argued that the verification principle is self-refuting, in that it is neither empirically verifiable nor tautologous. However, broader criticisms of verificationism are normally based on the impossibility of verifying specific instances of entities. The first problem faced is vaguenessVagueness
The term vagueness denotes a property of concepts . A concept is vague:* if the concept's extension is unclear;* if there are objects which one cannot say with certainty whether belong to a group of objects which are identified with this concept or which exhibit characteristics that have this...
--in trying to verify that something is a tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
, the term tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
is too vague to present any conclusive answer in some cases. The second is that of open texture
Open texture
Open texture is a term in the philosophy of Friedrich Waismann, first introduced in his paper Verifiability to refer to the universal possibility of vagueness in empirical statements. The concept has become important in criticism of verificationism and has also found use in legal philosophy....
--even if it appears to be conclusively verified that something is not made of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, the definition of "gold" could change as to allow said object into the category. These criticisms were first presented by Friedrich Waismann
Friedrich Waismann
Friedrich Waismann was an Austrian mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. He is best known for being a member of the Vienna Circle and one of the key theorists in logical positivism.-Birth & Early Interest in Philosophy:...
.
See also
- Epistemic theories of truthEpistemic theories of truthIn philosophy, epistemic theories of truth are attempts to analyze the notion of truth in terms of epistemic notions such as knowledge, belief, acceptance, verification, justification, and perspective....
| Early Verificationists | Pragmatists Pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice... | Logical Positivists Logical positivism Logical positivism is a philosophy that combines empiricism—the idea that observational evidence is indispensable for knowledge—with a version of rationalism incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of epistemology.It may be considered as a type of analytic... | Logical Atomists Logical atomism Logical atomism is a philosophical belief that originated in the early 20th century with the development of analytic philosophy. Its principal exponents were the British philosopher Bertrand Russell, the early work of his Austrian-born pupil and colleague Ludwig Wittgenstein, and his German... | Post-Positivist Verificationists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Berkeley George Berkeley George Berkeley , also known as Bishop Berkeley , was an Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism"... (1685–1753) |
C.S. Peirce (1839–1914) | Moritz Schlick Moritz Schlick Friedrich Albert Moritz Schlick was a German philosopher, physicist and the founding father of logical positivism and the Vienna Circle.-Early life and works:... (1882–1936) |
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things... (1872–1970) |
Arthur Fine Arthur Fine Arthur Fine is an American philosopher of science teaching at the University of Washington . Before moving to UW he taught for many years at Northwestern University and, before that, at Cornell University and the University of Illinois at Chicago... (1937–Present) |
| David Hume David Hume David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment... (1711–1776) |
William James William James William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism... (1842–1910) |
Rudolph Carnap (1891–1970) | Early Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947... (1889–1951) |
Michael Dummett Michael Dummett Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett FBA D.Litt is a British philosopher. He was, until 1992, Wykeham Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford... (1925–Present) |
| Auguste Comte Auguste Comte Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism... (1798–1857) |
F.C.S. Schiller (1864–1937) | Otto Neurath Otto Neurath Otto Neurath was an Austrian philosopher of science, sociologist, and political economist... (1882–1945) |
Willard Van Orman Quine Willard Van Orman Quine Willard Van Orman Quine was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition... (1908–2000) |
|
| Ernst Mach Ernst Mach Ernst Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher, noted for his contributions to physics such as the Mach number and the study of shock waves... (1838–1916) |
John Dewey John Dewey John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology... (1859–1952) |
A.J. Ayer (1910–1989) | Falsificationists | Bas van Fraassen (1941–Present) |
| Pierre Duhem Pierre Duhem Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem was a French physicist, mathematician and philosopher of science, best known for his writings on the indeterminacy of experimental criteria and on scientific development in the Middle Ages... (1861–1916) |
Hans Reichenbach Hans Reichenbach Hans Reichenbach was a leading philosopher of science, educator and proponent of logical empiricism... (1891–1953) |
Karl Popper Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics... (1902-1994) |
David Wiggins David Wiggins David Wiggins is a British moral philosopher, metaphysician, and philosophical logician working especially on identity and issues in meta-ethics. His 2006 book, Ethics. Twelve Lectures on the Philosophy of Morality defends a position he calls "moral objectivism".- Life :Wiggins read philosophy... (1933–Present) |
|
| Carl Hempel (1905–1997) | Christopher Peacocke Christopher Peacocke Christopher Arthur Bruce Peacocke is a philosopher especially known for his work in philosophy of mind and epistemology... (1950–Present) |