[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: positivistic view of language
On Fri, 22 Apr 1994, Mari Olsen wrote:
> Alvin Kimel writes:
>
> I'd still like to know what a "positivistic view of language" is.
>
>
> Me too, and I'm a linguist (well, PhD candidate). My adviser, Beth
> Levin (a well-read lexical semanticist) didn't know either. So if it's been
> overthrown, it was a very quiet revolution from the linguistics perspective
There was a group of philosophers early in the 20th century known as
positivists -- highly influenced by the early Wittgenstein (the
_Tractatus_) and the works of Bertrand Russell. This group became known
as the "Logical Positivists." They proposed definite theories concerning
the nature of language, truth, and other fundamental issues. Their view
might reasonably be referred to as "a positivistic view of language,"
no? This is all I was referring to. I didn't mean to get the linguistic
world in an uproar. :)
Now I'm done for sure. Back to Greek!
***************************************************************
"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana."
--Groucho Marx
Prof. James F. Sennett
Asst. Professor of Philosophy sennett@goliath.pbac.edu
Palm Beach Atlantic College andretg@aol.com
PO Box 24708 voice: (407) 835-4431
West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4708 fax: (407) 835-4342
***************************************************************
Follow-Ups:
References: