文档介绍：- - 3 The Elirniizatiorz of Metaphysics Through Logical Arzalysis of Language BY RUDOLF CARNAP (TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR PAP) THERE HAVE BEEN many opponents of metaphysics from the Greek skeptics to the empiricists of the 19th century. Criticisms of very diverse kinds have been set forth. Many have declared that the doc- trine of metaphysics is false, since it contradicts our empirical knowl- edge. Others have believed it to be uncertain, on the ground that its problems transcend the limits of human knowledge. Many anti- metaphysicians have declared that occupation with metaphysical ques- tions is sterile. Whether or not these questions can be answered, it is at any rate unnecessary to wony about them; let us devote ourselves entirely to the practical tasks which confront active men every day of their lives! The development of modern logic has made it possible to give a new and sharper answer to the question of the validity and justi- fication of metaphysics. The researches of applied logic or the theory of knowledge, which aim at clarifying the cognitive content of sci- entific statements and thereby the meanings of the terms that occur in the statements, by means of logical analysis, lead to a positive and to a negative result. The positive result is worked out in the domain of empirical science; the various concepts of the various' branches of science are clarified; their formal-logical and epistemo- logical connections are made explicit. In the donlain of metaphysics, This article, originally entitled "Uberwindung der Metaphysik durch Logische Analyse der Sprache," appeared in Erkennt~zis, Vol. 11 (1932). It is published here with the kind permission of Professor Carnap. The Elirniirotion of Adetaphysics [61 1 including all philosophy of value and normative theory, logical analysis yields the negative result that the alleged statements in this dornain are entirely nzeaningless. Therewith a radical elimination of metaphysics is attai