What is logical positivism?

Answer

Positivism refers to a belief that only those things that can be empirically detected are real. As an extension of this, logical positivism claims that only statements that are either empirical or purely logical have any meaning. Therefore, logical positivism, also known as logical empiricism, asserts that discussing something non-empirical and non-logical is futile. This approach to reality is not only incorrect but also self-defeating. Logical positivism bases its arguments on three fundamental concepts: experience, empirical data—gathered through the senses—and logic. Ironically, all three of these aspects offer direct evidence that this philosophy is flawed. As expected, scripture also challenges the idea of logical positivism.

Our senses provide a compelling analogy illustrating why logical positivism is flawed. Vision is the most crucial of a person’s five primary senses. The majority of the concrete information we receive about the world comes from sight. Following vision is hearing. However, does this imply that anything imperceptible by sight should be disregarded as nonsensical? Certainly not; there are tangible things that we cannot see but can smell, touch, or taste. Vibrations are invisible but audible, and some can be felt. Some tangible entities are either too minuscule or immense to be adequately perceived by our eyesight. The fact that most things, including many practical things, are observed visually does not mean that sight is the sole rational means of detecting reality.

Moreover, humans possess more than just the five primary senses. We also have faculties like proprioception—which enables us to sense the position and balance of our bodies—and thermoception—through which we perceive the temperature around us and within us. Some animals have senses that humans entirely lack. This indicates that the very concept of “empirical data” contradicts the notion that only what can be empirically detected is real.

Against the assertion that “empirical data is the only meaningful information.” What’s empirical to some animals is imperceptible to humans. What’s imperceptible to one sense is evident to another. It’s entirely reasonable to suggest that something could be non-empirical to a human and still be genuine. This is where experience and logic come into action.

Experience also indicates that empirical data alone does not define truth. Humans adhere to many concepts that are not only crucial to our experience but are inherently non-empirical. Morality, love, humor, art, friendship, entertainment, and so on are not easily disregarded as biological coincidences or defined purely in logical terms. This is precisely what proponents of logical positivism do, without any evidence to back their claims; rather, they do so out of necessity. However, experience reveals that our lives encompass many elements that are neither purely logical nor empirical.

The ultimate illustration of how experience refutes logical positivism is, ironically, found in its own definition. David Hume’s famous quote about the nature of truth succinctly characterizes logical positivism:

“If we take in our hand any volume—of divinity or school of metaphysics, for instance—let us ask, Does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quality or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matters of fact and existence? No. Dispose of it then, for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.”

Of course, Hume’s statement is not empirical or empirically verifiable. Nor is it purely abstract or entirely analytical. Therefore, it—and logical positivism itself—is self-defeating and nonsensical.

Lastly, the existence of logic itself disproves logical positivism. The laws of logic are deemed real, absolute, and yet entirely non-empirical. In every significant aspect, logic confronts the challenge of logical positivism and overcomes it. Any atAttempt to redefine or explain logic or logical positivism to make them compatible results in logical positivism becoming a tautology—a useless, self-referential truism. For instance, stating, “Well, only empirical things are ‘physically’ real,” essentially acknowledges that “non-empirical” differs from “imaginary.”

Scripture, naturally, does not entertain the notion of logical positivism. Primarily, logical positivism is confined by human knowledge and comprehension. As per the Bible, we are not the ultimate benchmark for wisdom and understanding: God is, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8). There exist numerous “true” aspects beyond our perception (2 Kings 6:16-17). Moreover, this physical form—that which we perceive through the senses—is not the entirety of our existence, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12).

Logical positivism is merely an effort to eradicate God and the supernatural by redefining terms. Predictably, it collapses due to self-annihilation. Non-empirical truth can indeed exist, and just because a concept is inherently non-empirical or even non-logical, it does not automatically render it meaningless.