Alfred Jules Ayer and the Limitations and Functionality of the Demarcation Problem in the Context of the Verifiability Principle in Logical Positivists
9th ICONSR 2025 - Kotor International Conference on Social Science Research, Kotor, Karadağ, 3 - 05 Eylül 2025, ss.119-124, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: Kotor
- Basıldığı Ülke: Karadağ
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.119-124
- Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Where to draw the boundary between science and metaphysics is one of the most fundamental problems in modern epistemology. This issue, known as the demarcation problem, is central to the nature of science, the criterion of meaningful discourse, and the efforts to define the limits of philosophical knowledge. A. J. Ayer approaches this problem as a continuation of the logical positivist tradition and attempts to delineate the meaningfulness of knowledge through the principle of verifiability. According to him, a proposition must be either analytically verifiable or capable of being confirmed by empirical experience; otherwise, it is meaningless. This approach points to defining the line between scientific and metaphysical discourse at the linguistic and logical levels. However, Ayer’s principle of verifiability faces both the problem of not being self-verifying and the difficulty of explaining probabilistic, general, or unobservable elements of scientific theories. This study aims to evaluate Ayer’s approach to the nature of knowledge, the scope of science, and the function of philosophy by discussing his solution to the demarcation problem and its place within the logical positivist movement.