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(1970) Contemporary philosophical alternatives and the crisis of truth, Dordrecht, Springer.
The functionalistic alternative for dealing with the present crisis of truth is best illustrated by the thought of Ludwig Wittgenstein. The development of his thought compromises the stage of logical positivism, as it appears in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, and the stage of linguistic philosophy, as it is propounded in his Philosophical Investigations. Although there are marked differences in these two works, implying a definite change in Wittgenstein's thought, both Wittgenstein's logical positivist and linguistic approach have that in common that they are functionalistic by nature. Wittgenstein's approach has proved very appealing to western philosophy and to Anglo-Saxon thought in particular. Wittgenstein was a pupil of Russell and a member of the Vienna circle, whose members grouped themselves around Moritz Schlick. The Vienna circle developed further the functionalistic or symbolic approach of Whitehead's and Russel's Principia Mathematica. This functionalistic approach is still very powerful on the European continent, but has even greater influence in the Anglo-Saxon world. Carnap, Reichenbach, Ayer, Ryle and Austin are the most outstanding representatives of this philosophical approach.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-010-2980-3_2
Full citation:
Rauche, G. A. (1970). The functionalistic alternative or the alternative of the status quo, in Contemporary philosophical alternatives and the crisis of truth, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 13-33.
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