Analytic Philosophy: The History of an Illusion

Abstract

This is a book on the history and nature of analytic philosophy (AP). It is not a book on some topic inthe history of AP. Rather, it is concerned with AP holistically, as a philosophical school or movement. For good or for ill, this holistic approach sets the book apart from much recent work in the emerging ‘history of AP’ genre. With some notable exceptions, works in this genre tend to focus on isolated figures and factions inthe history of AP, rather than onAP as a whole, and its history. Remarkable as many of these are as examples of scholarship, and helpful as they are in generating a better understanding of their respective subjects, they have done little to illuminate the history and nature of AP as such. This is not to say that they have no bearing on our holistic understanding of AP. To the contrary, many of these studies reveal facts of tremendous import. However, this is not always noticed, and their implications are not drawn out. I will attempt to draw them out.