Our Knowledge of the External World as a Field for Scientific Method in PhilosophyRussell, Bertrand
Philosophy
Our Knowledge of the External World as a Field for Scientific Method in Philosophy
Russell, Bertrand
Knowledge, Theory of; Logical atomism
Hegel and his followers widened the scope of logic in quite a different
way--a way which I believe to be fallacious, but which requires
discussion if only to show how their conception of logic differs from
the conception which I wish to advocate. In their writings, logic is
practically identical with metaphysics. In broad outline, the way this
came about is as follows. Hegel believed that, by means of _a priori_
reasoning, it could be shown that the world _must_ have various
important and interesting characteristics, since any world without these
characteristics would be impossible and self-contradictory. Thus what he
calls "logic" is an investigation of the nature of the universe, in so
far as this can be inferred merely from the principle that the universe
must be logically self-consistent. I do not myself believe that from
this principle alone anything of importance can be inferred as regards
the existing universe. But, however that may be, I should not regard
Hegel's reasoning, even if it were valid, as properly belonging to
logic: it would rather be an application of logic to the actual world.
Logic itself would be concerned rather with such questions as what
self-consistency is, which Hegel, so far as I know, does not discuss.
And though he criticises the traditional logic, and professes to replace
it by an improved logic of his own, there is some sense in which the
traditional logic, with all its faults, is uncritically and
unconsciously assumed throughout his reasoning. It is not in the
direction advocated by him, it seems to me, that the reform of logic is
to be sought, but by a more fundamental, more patient, and less
ambitious investigation into the presuppositions which his system shares
with those of most other philosophers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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