R. Carnap- The Elimination of Metaphysics (Notes)
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pg. 1- Sobre metafísica:that the alleged statements in thisdomain are entirely meaningless.
pg. 2- Our thesis, now, is that logical analysis reveals thealleged statements of metaphysics to be pseudo-statements.
pg. 4- Let us briefly summarize the result of our analysis. Let "a" be anyword and "S (a) " the elementary sentence in which it occurs. Then thesufficient and necessarv condition for "a" being meaningful may be givenby each of the following formulations, which ultimately say the samething:1. The empirical criteria for a are known.2. It has been stipulated from what protocol sentences "S(a)" isdeducible.3. The truth-conditions for "S(a)" are fixed.4. The method of verifcation of "S(a)" is known. [1]
pg. 7- It follows that if our thesis that the statements of metaphysics are
pseudo-statements is justifiable, then metaphysics could not even beexpressed if')a logically constructed language. This is the greatphilosophical importance of the task, which at present occupi~s thelogicians, of building a logical syntax.
pg. 9- The difference between our thesis and that of the earlierantimetaphysicians should now be clear. We do not regard metaphysics as"mere speculation" or "fairy tales." The statements of a fairy tale donot conflict with logic, but only with experience; they are perfectlymeaningful, although false. Metaphysics is not "superstition"; it ispossible to believe true and false propositions, but not to believemeaningless sequences of words. Metaphysical statements are not evenacceptable as "working hypotheses'; for an hypothesis must be capable
of entering into relations of deducibility with (true or false) empiricalstatements, which is just what pseudo-statements cannot do.
pg. 10- But if those hypothetical beings tell ussomething which we cannot verify, then we cannot understand it either;in that case no information has been communicated to us, but mere verbalsounds devoid of meaning though possibly associated with images.
Therefore no god and no devil cangive us metaphysical knowledge.
pg. 10- Crítica ao cogito cartesiano.
pg. 12- But actually thesituation is that meaningful metaphysical statements are impossible.This follows from the task which metaphysics sets itself: to discoverand formulate a kind of knowledge which is not accessible to empiricalscience.
pg. 12- Sentenças com significado:a)analíticas ou tautológicas.b)contradições.c)sentenças empíricas.Any statement one desires to construct which doesnot fall within these categories becomes automatically meaningless.
It is altogether unpossible to make a
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statement that expresses a value judgment.
pg. 13- But what, then, is left over for philosophy, if all statementswhatever that assert something are of an empirical nature and belong tofactual science? What remains is not statements, nor a theory, nor asystem, but only a method: the method of logical analysis.
Como fica então a metafísica.
pg. 14- The metaphysicianbelieves that he travels in territory in which truth and falsehood are atstake. In reality, however, he has not asserted anything, but onlyexpressed something, like an artist.
Metaphysicians are musicians without musical ability