Carnap and Grice: Formal and "Ordinary" Language

-- by JLS, of the Grice Club.

THIS IS FURTHER TO Jones's comments on "Grice: effect of Carnap", this blog.

The idea then


Russell,
Carnap
(Hilbert, even)

FORMALISM

.
.
.
\/

Oxford school of
Ordinary Language
Philosophy

(as reaction)

led by Austin (1911-1960)
and upon his demise, Grice (1913-1988).



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But on the other hand, we should also consider:

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"Ordinary language philosophy" as back to 'people's talk' -- versus the technical talk of philosophers. Discomfort with technicisms like 'sense datum', even. In this case, the reaction may go via Moore and Cambridge.

Strand 3, I think, in Grice, concerns this.

The idea: that philosophers were starting to talk 'paradoxes'. Malcolm came to the defense of the ordinary man, -- and Grice was obsessed with this.

If this second 'interpretation' of "ordinary language philosophy" is furthered, one see yet another connection with Carnap.

Carnap wants to say that philosophers indeed talk 'paradoxes'. -- "The nothing noths", etc. So, there is a need to get sense back to the TOPIC of philosophy -- philosophy has been contaminated, and corrupted, in its idioms, by philosophers. We need to go back to 'ordinary' talk of "know", "believe", "is", "may", "ought", etc., rather than philosophise abstractedly on the non-naturalistic fallacy, say.