G. F. Stout and the Psychological Origins of Analytic Philosophy

An investigatation of the influence of psychology and early phenomenology on the origins of analytic philosophy. This book is also of value for those interested in judgement, proposition, psychologism, logical realism, the problem of error, Gestalt theories, and tropes. The philosopher and psychologist G.F. Stout was the teacher of Moore and Russell around 1894. This book shows that Stout's ideas have played a role in Moore and Russell's development from their early idealism towards analytic realism, where Stout's ideas often find their origin in early phenomenology. The theory of judgement and proposition that Moore and Russell defended around 1900 has to be understood against the background of a one-dimensional semantics, and the question what guarantees the objectivity of thought and judgement. Both aspects have their origin in Stout's psychological account of judgement and the way he distinguishes between act, content and object. Stout is also of interest for his critique of Russell's theory of descriptions and the multiple relation theory of judgement. The book deals with topics relevant for philosophy today, such as tropes and predication, the problem of error, psychologism, and the relation between question and judgement Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-7 Judgement and the Emergence of Logical Realism in Britain....Pages 8-44 From Descriptive Psychology to Analytic Philosophy (1888–1899)....Pages 45-81 Psychologism and the Problem of Error (1899–1907)....Pages 82-100 Judgement, Propositional Attitudes and the Proposition (1908–1944)....Pages 101-127 Tropes and Predication....Pages 128-148 Conclusion....Pages 149-151 Back Matter....Pages 152-174