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Full Idea
The Humean view has led philosophers to suppose that their task is to provide an analysis of key concepts and relations wholly in terms drawn from formal logic, since relations of necessity are, in their view, fundamentally logical relations
Gist of Idea
Humeans see analysis in terms of formal logic, because necessities are fundamentally logical relations
Source
Harré,R./Madden,E.H. (Causal Powers [1975], 1.I.A)
Book Ref
Harré,R/Madden,E.H.: 'Causal Powers: A Theory of Natural Necessity' [Blackwell 1975], p.2
A Reaction
A very sharp observation about why logic has become central to contemporary philosophy. As far as I can see, logic steadily increases its dominance, to the point where ordinary metaphysical thought is being squeezed out.
| 19231 | Metaphysics is turning into logic, and logic is becoming mathematics [Peirce] |
| 22270 | Frege changed philosophy by extending logic's ability to check the grounds of thinking [Potter on Frege] |
| 15948 | Frege developed formal systems to avoid unnoticed assumptions [Frege, by Lavine] |
| 21573 | When problems are analysed properly, they are either logical, or not philosophical at all [Russell] |
| 6116 | A logical language would show up the fallacy of inferring reality from ordinary language [Russell] |
| 21546 | We can't sharply distinguish variables, domains and values, if symbols frighten us [Russell] |
| 22436 | Logicians don't paraphrase logic into language, because they think in the symbolic language [Quine] |
| 8996 | If if time is money then if time is not money then time is money then if if if time is not money... [Quine] |
| 15802 | I use variables to show that each item remains the same entity throughout [Chisholm] |
| 15210 | Humeans see analysis in terms of formal logic, because necessities are fundamentally logical relations [Harré/Madden] |
| 13515 | To study abstract problems, some knowledge of set theory is essential [Hart,WD] |
| 9766 | Study vagueness first by its logic, then by its truth-conditions, and then its metaphysics [Fine,K] |
| 11051 | Frege's logical approach dominates the analytical tradition [Hanna] |