Wittgenstein and Ayer

Kevin Anderson

05 February 2013

Phi 347 - Paper #1

Ludwig glanced up from his mug. Setting his drink on the table, he smiled and let slip a slightly condescending sigh. "I fear you do not understand the meaning of your own words, my friend."

Alfred chuckled and responded inquiringly "by all means then..."

"I believe a dispute lies before us. On the surface, put simply, is a disagreement brought about by the ambiguity of language. Deeper, however, is a derivation of the initial controversy in that I believe we also disagree about the capacity to which we, as mere primates, may claim lordship over logic as a discipline and the manifestation of how the world interacts with itself."

"Please," Alfred grinned, "do tell me what I mean by logic."

"Don't go developing a persecution complex on us Freddie." Ludwig rebutted. He glanced threateningly across the table and then gazed over Alfred's left shoulder toward a man with circular spectacles and a cigar. "I'll call Sigmund over here, don't think I won't!"

"Now now, there's no need for rash actions. Continue."

"You consider logic to be a means of describing the universe around us. You us 'logic' as a synonym for describing observable phenomena backed by evidentiary support. I believe you're on the right track, just on the wrong train. Though before I explain to you why, allow me to break onto a short tangent and give you a brief lesson in a leading philosophy governing much of astrophysics and cosmology."

"I'm no scientist, perhaps you'd prefer to invite Isaac join us."

"Don't be silly," Ludwig responded, gesturing toward a tipsy Isaac casually leaning on the Steinway across the room, "he's busy chatting up Elton, and we wouldn't want to impose."

"You're just afraid he'll put you to shame," Alfred jeered.

"The man invented calculus on what was essentially a dare!" Ludwig defended, "I can stand toe to toe with the most seasoned logicians, but that man is in a league of his own."

Laughing...