ABSTRACT
By the late 1960s, it had become a widely accepted narrative that logical empiricism was a combination of highly suspect doctrines that had been decisively refuted by W. V. O. Quine, among others, thus initiating an era, sometimes known as “post-positivism.” The latter period was characterized by such views as holism, naturalism, the rejection of both foundationalism and certainty, and the resurgence of metaphysics, especially modal metaphysics. Recent historical scholarship has shown that this narrative stands in need of serious revision. After a brief review of the central doctrines of the logical empiricists, this chapter looks at the confrontation with Quine and questions the long-held view that Quine initiated a sea change in analytic philosophy, as many of Quine’s positions have their source in logical empiricism.
