Analytic Philosophy: Compelled Reflection

Abstract

The article deals with the history of analytic philosophy which involved periods when the importance of metaphysics was rejected, along with speculative philosophy and an accent was placed on the analysis of the language. The analytical tradition always presumed western philosophy as something self-evident. Until recently disputes on the importance of history of philosophy for analysts had not arisen. It not especially favored. However, the possibility of losing the self-reflection of analytic philosophy, the probability of losing the analysis of one’s own foundation in the mirror of other traditions, having somewhat other grounds than analytics, brought special attention to the history of philosophy. Compelled reflection revealed not only its attitude towards continental philosophy, but also threw light both on its success and its shortcomings. The strengthened work on an origin of analytical philosophy for the purpose of replacement of the developed myth with historical truth has begun. Now there are disputes concerning the term of interpretation «analytical philosophy» and the thinkers it involves. A problem is that is difficult to make exact definition of “analytical philosophy” as it is not so much a specific doctrine as a liberal range of approaches to problems. The problem was to find a method of classification of analytical philosophers or to sort out their relations to the thought movement which history makes analytical tradition. Gradually for analysts it became clear that programs of analytical philosophy have replaced each other because the latent metaphysical assumptions lying in their basis have changed. The history of the historical-philosophical discussion of a problem is offered also by the given paper. Refs 31.