Stephen Downes

I have a lot of respect for Rudolf Carnap, not because I agree with what he argues - I don't - but because of the way he carried out the program systematically to its logical conclusion. As a result, we have a crystal clear format through which we can investigate the real issues behind those contained in the words (as Wittgenstein might say). This is a short (5 page PDF) overview. "For Carnap, the creation of symbolic logic makes it possible to formally model the language of science - where 'language' here is meant to include both grammar and logic. The goal of Syntax is not to carry out this program in detail with respect to specific sciences, but to provide a template for this kind of theorizing, and to explain the philosophical upshot of looking at science from this perspective." If you really want to study Carnap, this whole book is open access (528 page PDF) and is about 50-50 German-English.