Katrina Washington October 7, 2013 Paper #2 Analytic-Synthetic Distinction The logical positivists views on the analytic-synthetic distinction were

introduced when Frege and Carnap made revisions to the Kantian definition of what analytic and synthetic propositions consisted of. These definitions are important to the understanding of propositions and their true meaning. An analytic proposition is a statement thats subject explained the predicate and vice versa. A synthetic proposition is a statement thats subject did not explain the predicate or vice versa. The logical positivists agreed with Kant that mathematical propositions are not justifiable based solely upon experience. Kant believed that in order to justify the concept of 2+5=7, there would have to be prior knowledge of the concepts of + and 7. On the other hand, they did not agree with the fact that Kant believed metaphysics was necessary to explain how knowledge of mathematical truths came to be. The Logical positivists understood that knowledge of judgments such as all bachelors are unmarried and that the knowledge of mathematics (2+5=7) were one in the same in the sense that we already have knowledge of these terms based on their meaning. Quines objection to the positivists theory on analytic-synthetic distinction was that there is a difference between the meaning of something and the definition. His objection mostly dealt with the concept of analyticity and its true definition. According to Quine, the analytic statement No bachelor is married is interchangeable with no unmarried man is married because by definition a bachelor is an unmarried man. However, a counterexample could be: the word

bachelor has fewer than ten letters. It could not be confirmed only by the fact that bachelor and unmarried man have the same definition, that unmarried man also has fewer that ten letters. In an effort to exclude the above statement, Quine presents the concept of synonymy and how unclear it is. In order to be synonymous, a term can be substituted with another term and have the same connotation. He believed that only through a clear sufficient explanation of synonymy could we make a judgment on the meaning of something. The logical positivists have an interesting theory about meanings and their true definitions. However, the Kantian belief that mathematical truths are needed to understand statements such as 2+5=7 is more significant. Prior knowledge of how numbers work and concepts of mathematical equations would be needed to solve that problem. The logical positivists did have a good point when it came to stating the difference between analytic and synthetic statements. For example: -The clock tells time. is an analytical statement because the terms clock and time are synonymous. - The clock is for sale. is a synthetic statement because the terms clock and for sale do not define each other. Quines views on what terms are interchangeable and what a concise idea of analyticity were particularly thought-provoking. The idea of an analytic proposition entails an understanding of the concept of synonymy. However, cognitive synonymy eventually leads to synthetic propositions. In a Quinian mindset, this indicates that there is no tenable way to firmly assure that the concept of analytic propositions is true.