Hi Jerry and all, The passage is from:
"The full quote is from Rudolf Carnap's 1932 article "The Elimination of Metaphysics Through Logical Analysis of Language". In it, he states: "The opinion that metaphysics is to be largely cleared up by the application of the theory of signs is, I believe, the fundamental position of all those who call themselves 'Logical Positivists'". He immediately follows this by clarifying the true import of their logical analysis. "This statement is a core part of the logical positivist project, which the Vienna Circle pursued in the 1920s and 1930s. “ I found it by copying and pasting the quote into my safari search bar. I used the technique to check for plagiarism in students’ papers as soon as the google search was available. I would find the passage most out of context, or stylistically different, and check it out. Many students were not plagiarizing among those I checked, but most were plagiarized. Some plagiarized only sentences, which should be paraphrased. Others plagiarized paragraphs. I couldn’t check papers that could have been written for them. Since I couldn’t prove it, I would grade the essay they purchased, and have a conference with them. I retired in 2016. Now chatbot is doing something worse, in my opinion. It does not give accurate sources, when it gives sources at all. Best, Mary Liberti > On Sep 22, 2025, at 12:21 PM, Jerry Rhee <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I was messing around with ChatGPT and when I asked if it were familiar with > CP 5.189, it responded with this: > > "The opinion that metaphysics is to be largely cleared up by the application > of the theory of signs is, I believe, correct. But I do not think, as the > Germans and their American followers seem to do, that metaphysics is to be > settled off-hand by drawing a few definitions and then 'going to sleep.' > Metaphysical questions are questions which the mind naturally asks, and which > it is stimulated to ask by the very development of reasoning." > > > Now, as far as products of AI systems go, I think this is a very important > contribution, especially in light of the fact that we all know what the > traditional meaning of 'sleep' is in philosophy. > I mean, what are we, stupid? > > In any case, recognizing that the quote is not quoted correctly, the > statement still sounds very much like what Peirce would say. > May I request a scholar on this list to provide an actual reference or > something resembling it from his published/manuscript material, please? > > Thank you kindly. > Best, > jerry r > _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ > ► PEIRCE-L subscribers: Click on "Reply List" or "Reply All" to REPLY ON > PEIRCE-L to this message. PEIRCE-L posts should go to [email protected] . > ► <a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=SIG%20peirce-l";>UNSUBSCRIBE FROM > PEIRCE-L</a> . But, if your subscribed email account is not your default > email account, then go to > https://list.iu.edu/sympa/signoff/peirce-l . > ► PEIRCE-L is owned by THE PEIRCE GROUP; moderated by Gary Richmond; and > co-managed by him and Ben Udell.
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