Philosophy › The 20th century
Analytic philosophy
c. 1903 onward· School or movement· Knowledge, logic & science
Well documentedSolid records, texts or physical evidence.
The tradition, dominant in English-speaking universities, that tackles philosophical problems through logic, careful analysis of language and clear argument.
See it on the Philosophy map →The idea
Idea: many philosophical puzzles can be solved, or dissolved, by making concepts and sentences precise. It grew from Frege's new logic and from Russell and G. E. Moore's revolt against British idealism at Cambridge around 1900; Moore's Principia Ethica and Russell's Principles of Mathematics both appeared in 1903. Later strands include logical positivism, Oxford 'ordinary language' philosophy, and today's work on mind and science. Main objection: critics say it trades big questions for technical puzzles.
Why it matters
It set the style of most philosophy departments in Britain, the US and Australia: short papers, precise definitions, close attention to arguments and science.
Where it comes from
Its founding texts by Frege, Russell, Moore and Wittgenstein survive in print; historians such as Michael Dummett and Scott Soames have traced its development.
Still debated
Whether it is a school with shared doctrines or just a style is debated; Dummett said its core was putting language first.
Inside this (8)
Connections (3)
▸Gottlob Frege and modern logic founded Analytic philosophyMostly agreed
The connection
Frege invented modern logic, with symbols for 'all' and 'some' (quantifiers) that could analyze arguments far beyond Aristotle's syllogisms. He also showed how to study meaning precisely, distinguishing a word's sense from what it refers to. These tools, taken up by Russell and Wittgenstein, became the core method of analytic philosophy.
When and how
In Jena, Germany: Begriffsschrift ('Concept-Script', 1879), The Foundations of Arithmetic (1884) and 'On Sense and Reference' (1892).
How sure are we?
Russell and Wittgenstein credited him directly; Michael Dummett's Frege: Philosophy of Language (1973) made the case that he founded the tradition.
Debates and open questions
Calling him the founder is partly hindsight: he was little read in his lifetime, and Moore and Russell's revolt at Cambridge owed little to him at first.
▸Bertrand Russell co-founded Analytic philosophyWell documented
The connection
With G. E. Moore, Russell led the Cambridge revolt against British idealism, the Hegel-inspired view that reality is one mind-like whole. He argued the world consists of many separate facts that logical analysis can uncover. 'On Denoting' (1905) became the model of analysis: rewriting confusing sentences into precise logical form.
When and how
At Trinity College, Cambridge, around 1898–1905; 'On Denoting' appeared in the journal Mind in 1905.
How we know
Russell describes the revolt in My Philosophical Development (1959); Frank Ramsey called his theory of descriptions 'that paradigm of philosophy'.
Debates and open questions
Historians debate whether Russell, Moore or Frege deserves most credit, and whether 'analysis' meant the same thing to each of them.
▸Analytic philosophy became the rival camp to ExistentialismMostly agreed
The connection
Both traditions grew from German-language philosophy around 1900, Frege's logic and Husserl's phenomenology, but they diverged. Analytic philosophers prized logic, science and clarity; existentialists and their continental heirs prized lived experience, history and literature. Carnap mocked Heidegger's 'the Nothing itself nothings' as meaningless, while Heidegger held logic cannot reach the deepest questions. Each side doubted the other was doing philosophy.
When and how
Carnap's attack on Heidegger appeared in 1932; the split hardened after 1945 between Anglo-American and French and German departments, as a 1958 meeting at Royaumont, near Paris, showed.
How sure are we?
Michael Dummett compared the traditions to the Rhine and the Danube, rising close together and then flowing in opposite directions.
Debates and open questions
Many philosophers now think the divide is fading, or was always more about style and university culture than substance; others think it marks real disagreements.