Why did logical positivists classify many metaphysical statements as meaningless?

Logical positivists classified many metaphysical statements as meaningless because they failed to meet the criteria for cognitive significance established by the verifiability principle.12

According to this doctrine, a statement is meaningful only if it is either analytic—true by definition, such as a tautology—or synthetic, meaning it expresses a matter of empirical fact that can be verified through observation. Logical positivists argued that metaphysical assertions, such as "God exists" or "The Absolute has no history," are neither analytically true nor empirically verifiable. Because no observable evidence could count for or against these claims, they were deemed to lack factual content.123

While logical positivists acknowledged that such statements might possess "emotive" significance—influencing feelings, beliefs, or conduct—they insisted these expressions should not be mistaken for genuine knowledge. Consequently, they viewed metaphysics as a futile endeavor that, unlike science, fails to provide a cognitive representation of reality.241