Research Group
in Analytic Philosophy

Abstract

A guiding theme of analytic philosophy has been the hope for philosophical progress by means of clear questions and statements put in the service of rigorous argument. Many champions of analytic philosophy have maintained that it is inherently
■ clearer (superior clarity thesis SCT) and
■ more rigorous (superior rigour thesis SRT)
than its rivals. Looking at the past and present of analytic philosophy, both SCT and SRT have to be taken with a substantial grain of salt (see Glock What is Analytic Philosophy, CUP 2008, ch. 6) My aim here is to
a) clarify the concepts of clarity and rigour;
b) identify a contrast between formalist and non-formalist conceptions of rigour;
c) discuss whether the virtues of clarity and rigour can come into conflict in the pursuit of philosophical progress, e.g. because rigour comes at the price of decreased surveyability and hence of diminished epistemic control.