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Work #204 · Early (Carnap's breakthrough work)

The Logical Structure of the World

Rudolf Carnap
1928 (Carnap's habilitation; the founding text of the Vienna Circle's constructive-philosophical programme) · German
Systematic philosophical-logical treatise · Logical positivism / Vienna Circle

All empirical concepts constructed from immediate experience using the logical apparatus of Principia Mathematica — Carnap's most ambitious early book

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Logical Structure of the World (Early (Carnap's breakthrough work))
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Relational
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Relational
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Emergent
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Total
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Immediate
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Singular
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Emergent
Information · Cosmic Conservation Non-conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Non-conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Logical Structure of the World

Constructed time — physical and social time as logical constructions from the temporal order of autopsychological experiences.

Space

The Logical Structure of the World

Constructed space — physical, perceived, and social space as logical constructions from elementary experiences.

Matter

The Logical Structure of the World

Material reality as logically constructed from autopsychological experience — the famous "construction of the physical world" from §§125-145.

Observer

The Logical Structure of the World

The autopsychological subject as the singular starting point — embodied, active, providing the elementary experiences from which all else is constructed.

Energy

The Logical Structure of the World

Constructed physical energy as a derived concept; not foundational in the Aufbau construction.

Information

The Logical Structure of the World

Logical-constructive information; each concept as a logical construction with discrete definitional content.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Logical Structure of the World

Quine's "Two Dogmas of Empiricism" (1951) argued that the Aufbau's constructive programme could not succeed because the analytic-synthetic distinction it relies on collapses under scrutiny. Carnap himself substantially modified his programme in subsequent work (Logical Syntax of Language, 1934; Meaning and Necessity, 1947). The relation between the Aufbau's autopsychological base (apparently solipsistic) and Carnap's commitment to scientific objectivity has been a continuing question. Recent rehabilitations (Chalmers's "Constructing the World," 2012) have updated the programme in light of post-Quinean philosophy.