Wittgenstein, Carnap, & Copernicus: adapting the a priori
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5840/eps202461114Keywords:
a priori, Wittgenstein, Carnap, epistemologyAbstract
My point of departure is a passage in which Coffa (1991) claims: "Wittgenstein's and Carnap's insights on the a priori belong in the same family as Kant's... What we witness circa 1930 is a Copernican turn that, like Kant's, bears the closest connection to the a priori; but its topic is meaning rather than experience." (p. 263). I draw out Kantian resonances in Wittgenstein's and Carnap's work on logic, grammar, and theoretical frameworks. In the end, Coffa's remark comes out as significantly illuminating for a variety of questions, issues, and dynamic historical trends.
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