Definitions and Descriptions of AnalysisThe older a word, the deeper it reaches. (Wittgenstein NB, 40) {§6.5} This supplement collects together various definitions and descriptions of analysis that have been offered in the history of philosophy (including all the classic ones), to indicate the range of different conceptions and the issues that arise. (There are also some remarks on related topics such as analyticity, definition, and methodology more generally.) In most cases, abbreviated references are given; full details can be found in the Annotated Bibliography on Analysis, in the section mentioned in curly brackets after the relevant definition or description. Where there is more than one passage quoted from a particular author, passages are numbered in chronological order of composition (as far as that can be determined). Show
1. Definitions of AnalysisCambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 2nd ed., 1999, ed. Robert Audithe process of breaking up a concept, proposition, linguistic complex, or fact into its simple or ultimate constituents. {§1.1} Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1976, ed. J. B. Sykes1. Resolution into simpler elements by analysing (opp. synthesis); statement of result of this; … 2. (Math.) Use of algebra and calculus in problem-solving. {§1.1} Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology, 1925, ed. James Mark Baldwin, Vol. IThe isolation of what is more elementary from what is more complex by whatever method. {§1.1} A Kant Dictionary, 1995, by Howard CaygillKant combines two senses of analysis in his work, one derived from Greek geometry, the other from modern physics and chemistry. Both remain close to the original Greek sense of analysis as a ‘loosening up’ or ‘releasing’, but each proceed in different ways. The former proceeds ‘lemmatically’ by assuming a proposition to be true and searching for another known truth from which the proposition may be deduced. The latter proceeds by resolving complex wholes into their elements. {§4.5} Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, 1996, by Simon BlackburnThe process of breaking a concept down into more simple parts, so that its logical structure is displayed. {§1.1} Philosophielexikon, 1997, ed. A. Hügli and P. LübckeAuflösung, Zerlegung in Bestandteile, im Gegensatz zu Synthese. {§1.1} Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1998, entry under ‘Analytical Philosophy’ by Thomas BaldwinPhilosophical analysis is a method of inquiry in which one seeks to assess complex systems of thought by ‘analysing’ them into simpler elements whose relationships are thereby brought into focus. {§1.1} Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1998, entry under ‘Conceptual Analysis’ by Robert HannaThe theory of conceptual analysis holds that concepts – general meanings of linguistic predicates – are the fundamental objects of philosophical inquiry, and that insights into conceptual contents are expressed in necessary ‘conceptual truths’ (analytic propositions). {§1.1} Annotated Bibliography, §1.1 2. Descriptions of AnalysisAlexander of Aphrodisias
Aristotle
Arnauld, Antoine and Nicole, Pierre
Ayer, A. J.
Bentham, Jeremy
Bergson, Henri
Black, Max
Bos, Henk J. M.
Bradley, F. H.
Brandom, Robert B.
Carnap, Rudolf
Cassirer, Ernst
Cohen, L. Jonathan
Collingwood, R. G.
Davidson, Donald
De Chardin, Teilhard
Derrida, Jacques
Descartes, René
Euclid
Frege, Gottlob
Geertz, Clifford
Hegel, Georg W.F.
Heidegger, Martin
Hobbes, Thomas
Hodges, Wilfrid
Holton, Gerald
Husserl, Edmund
Kant, Immanuel
Lakatos, Imre
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm
Lichtenberg, Georg Christoph
Locke, John
Lodge, David
Mendelssohn, Moses
Moore, G. E.
Newton, Isaac
Nietzsche, Friedrich
Pappus
Plato
Poincaré, Jules Henri
Polya, George
Proclus
Quine, W.V.O.
Rorty, Richard
Rosen, Stanley
Russell, Bertrand
Ryle, Gilbert
Schiller, Friedrich
Sellars, Wilfrid
Soames, Scott
Stebbing, L. Susan
Strawson, Peter F.
Urmson, J. O.
Whitehead, Alfred North
Wilson, John Cook
Wittgenstein, Ludwig
A list of key works on analysis (monographs and collections) can be found in the Annotated Bibliography, §1.2. Frequently Asked Questions About pandemicWhat is the difference between a pandemic and an epidemic?An epidemic is an outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time. A pandemic is a kind of epidemic: one which has spread across a wider geographic range than an epidemic, and which has affected a significant portion of the population. When does an outbreak become a pandemic?An outbreak is “a sudden rise in the incidence of a disease” and typically is confined to a localized area or a specific group of people. Should an outbreak become more severe, and less localized, it may be characterized as an epidemic. If it broadens still further, and affects a significant portion of the population, the disease may be characterized as a pandemic. What are some examples of pandemics?There have been a number of pandemics since the beginning of the 20th century: the H1N1 pandemic of 2009, the Spanish flu of 1918/19 (which did not originate in Spain), as well as flu pandemics in 1957 and 1968, and now the COVID-19 pandemic of 2019/20. Among the best known pandemics is the Black Death, a plague which spread across Asia and Europe in the middle of the 14th century. |