Definition

Noun: A person who adheres to the philosophical doctrine of logical positivism. This doctrine holds that for a statement to be meaningful, it must be either empirically verifiable (i.e., provable through observation or experience) or a tautology of logic or mathematics. Statements about metaphysics, ethics, or aesthetics, which cannot be verified this way, are considered cognitively meaningless.

Usage Examples

• The logical positivist argued that the debate about the nature of the soul was nonsensical, as it could not be settled by scientific evidence.
• As a staunch logical positivist, she dismissed all theological claims as meaningless utterances.
• The group of logical positivists, known as the Vienna Circle, sought to unify science through a common empirical language.

Advanced Usage

• Logical positivist as a modifier: The term can function attributively to describe concepts, criteria, or arguments associated with the philosophy.
  • He applied a logical positivist criterion to analyze the claims of psychoanalysis.
• Historical context: Often used when discussing early 20th-century philosophy of science and the movement to eliminate metaphysics from serious discourse.

Variants and Related Words

• Logical positivism (n): The philosophical system or doctrine itself.
  • Logical positivism was highly influential in the philosophy of science.
• Positivist (n): A broader term for a follower of positivism, which emphasizes scientific methods and observable facts. A logical positivist is a specific type of positivist.
• Verificationist (n): Someone who supports the verification principle, which is central to logical positivist thought.

Synonyms

• Verificationist
• Empiricist (in a specific, strict philosophical sense)

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Verification principle / criterion of meaning: The central tenet of logical positivism, stating that the meaning of a proposition is its method of verification.
• The Vienna Circle: The group of philosophers and scientists in the 1920s and 1930s most associated with developing and promoting logical positivism.
• Analytic statement: A statement true by definition (e.g., "All bachelors are unmarried"), which logical positivists accepted as meaningful.
• Synthetic statement: A statement whose truth depends on empirical facts (e.g., "It is raining"), which logical positivists also accepted as meaningful.

Noun

1. someone who maintains that any statement that cannot be verified empirically is meaningless