Grammar and analyticity: Wittgenstein and the logical positivists on logical and conceptual truth

Abstract

Wittgenstein's conception of logical and conceptual truth is often thought to rival that of the logical positivists. This paper argues that there are important respects in which these conceptions complement each other. Analyticity, in the positivists' sense, coincides, not with Wittgenstein's notion of a grammatical proposition, but rather with his notion of a tautology. Grammatical propositions can usually be construed as analyticity postulates in Carnap's sense of the term. This account of grammatical and analytic propositions will be illustrated by appeal to logical, conceptual and arithmetic truths. Its consequences for an analysis of corresponding modal notions will be indicated.

Metaphysical explanations: The case of singleton sets revisited

“…For a brief exposition and defence of the neo-Fregean conception of numbers, see(Hale & Wright, 2005). In their 2009, the same authors explain how their approach is supposed to apply also to other kinds of "abstract objects".6The notion of analyticity employed here is explained and defended inBüttner (2021Büttner ( , 2023.7This view is developed and defended inBüttner (2019).…”