The Logical Structure of the World: Pseudoproblems in Philosophy

work by Carnap

Also known as: “Der logische Aufbau der Welt”

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June 30, 2026

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Rudolf Carnap's The Logical Structure of the World: Pseudoproblems in Philosophy (1928) presents "constitution theory". This view posits that scientific concepts are ultimately defined by other concepts that describe relations between experiences.1

Carnap's theory suggests that complex scientific terms, like "atom," can be "reduced" to simpler terms referring only to direct experiences. This reduction is achieved through a hierarchical system, starting with basic, private experiential concepts and building up to more complex ones, all expressed using symbolic logic. Carnap later revised this theory. His work aimed to provide a rigorous, logical foundation for empiricism, asserting that all knowledge is ultimately grounded in immediate experience. This approach sought to eliminate pseudoproblems in philosophy by analyzing language and grounding concepts in observable data.12

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constitution theory
…Logische Aufbau der Welt (1928; The Logical Structure of the World: Pseudoproblems in Philosophy, 1967). A scientific concept, such as “atom” or “gene,” is said to be “reduced” when every sentence containing the concept can be transformed into sentences containing concepts that refer only to experiences—which thus constitute the scientific…
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…Logische Aufbau der Welt (1928; The Logical Structure of the World: Pseudoproblems in Philosophy, 1967). A scientific concept, such as “atom” or “gene,” is said to be “reduced” when every sentence containing the concept can be transformed into sentences containing concepts that refer only to experiences—which thus constitute the scientific…
Read More

Rudolf Carnap
Career in Vienna and Prague
…logische Aufbau der Welt (1928; The Logical Structure of the World), Carnap developed, with unprecedented rigour, a version of the empiricist reducibility thesis according to which all terms suited to describe actual or possible empirical facts are fully definable by terms referring exclusively to aspects of immediate experience, so that…
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…logische Aufbau der Welt (1928; The Logical Structure of the World), Carnap developed, with unprecedented rigour, a version of the empiricist reducibility thesis according to which all terms suited to describe actual or possible empirical facts are fully definable by terms referring exclusively to aspects of immediate experience, so that…
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positivism
The critical positivism of Mach and Avenarius
…philosophical semanticist and analyst, entitled Der logische Aufbau der Welt (1928; The Logical Structure of the World). Mach remained the most influential thinker among positivists for a long time, though some of his disciples, like Josef Petzoldt, are now largely forgotten. But The Grammar of Science (1892), written by Karl…
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…philosophical semanticist and analyst, entitled Der logische Aufbau der Welt (1928; The Logical Structure of the World). Mach remained the most influential thinker among positivists for a long time, though some of his disciples, like Josef Petzoldt, are now largely forgotten. But The Grammar of Science (1892), written by Karl…
Read More