Schlick and Popper
What is metaphysics? The question itself is a study in the answer, as to question the meaning of truth is to compare and contrast it to all that we perceive from our senses as 'real.' The principle of verifiability was at the core of Logical Positivism, the movement that sought to apply logic and the methodology of the empirical sciences to all fields of thought. It states that a theory, or more generally a sentence, that is not at least capable of empirical verification is meaningless. For positivists, the 'given,' which can be based primarily upon appearances, is a single, one-dimensional and positive object. There is no elaboration or variation on how the 'given' is interpreted, it simply is. As Schlick tells us (from the positivist outlook), "Only the given is real." This obviously presents contradictions if one is attempting to explain something outside the sphere of what is perceived to be the given. If there is an existence of an external world, then how can the problem be resolved without looking beyond what is known of the given? This is metaphysical idealism, where the philosopher feels he can speak to only that which is given to him -- a kind of solipsistic thought where nothing can be assum
The only way to come close to defining the true meaning of a statement is to test, ask further questions and use both falsification and verification as a means to get closer to (not, ultimately, find) the truth. Observation, altering the given state -- these things should be taken into consideration when attempting verification, but to assume that the "realm of the given would not be touched" for whatever hypothesis has been stated makes no sense. The claims become meaningless as soon as one cannot support the existence of being without giving examples of what it is that one supposes it to be. But Popper took a more critical approach. Popper sees metaphysics in a vastly different light than did Schlick, and sees no place for it in true scientific inquiry. Once he has decided that the two papers are the same color, that statement has been verified; this is the given. For Schlick, the line of demarcation between science and metaphysics (pseudo-science) was blurry. The problem comes with the realization that the verification cannot be shown without establishing the meaning. Only if a theory can be disproved can it be considered scientifically meaningful, and it is the unsuccessful efforts to disprove it that give it ever more validity. Scientific theories must, by their very definition, have some empirical data to support what is known to be true. Schlick attempts to make clear the claims of scientific inquiry in relation to metaphysics -- scientists who state hypotheses without being able to back up their claims with hard facts present a logical impossibility. Popper attacked verification by arguing that universal propositions, such as the law of gravity, can never be definitely verified. There was a justification in the very act of searching; justification for the hypotheses was not necessary.
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Acceptance Essays
