Judgement and the Emergence of Logical Realism in Britain

Abstract

Why has the theory of judgement and proposition been central for the transition from British idealism to early analytic philosophy? In order to be able to answer this question, one has to know more about the theory of judgement in British idealism and the nineteenth century in general. Early analytic philosophy, that is, before 1905, consists of at least these aspects: logical realism, an atomistic theory of wholes and parts and a new method of analysis. I will focus here on logical realism as it is defended by Moore and Russell. Leaving the theory of wholes and parts and the new method for the next chapter, the central question here is: How did a new, British variant of logical realism, that is, a new theory of judgement and proposition, emerge from British idealism?