Analytic philosophy is a branch and tradition of philosophy that began around the turn of the 20th century in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia, and continues today. It is characterized by clarity of prose and rigor in arguments, making use of formal logic and mathematics, and, to a lesser degree, the natural sciences. Analytic philosophy is often contrasted with continental philosophy, which is a catch-all term for other methods, prominent in Europe.

Key features of analytic philosophy include:

• Linguistic idiom: Analytic philosophy often uses a linguistic idiom, frequently basing arguments on the “meanings” of terms and propositions. Russell believed that the grammar of natural language often is philosophically misleading, and that the way to dispel the illusion is to re-express propositions in the ideal formal language of symbolic logic, thereby revealing their true logical form.

• Conceptual investigations: Analytic philosophers conduct conceptual investigations that characteristically, though not invariably, involve studies of the language in which the concepts in question are, or can be, expressed. According to one tradition in analytic philosophy (sometimes referred to as formalism), the definition of a concept can be determined by uncovering the underlying logical structures, or “logical forms,” of the sentences used to express it.

• Clarity and rigor: Analytic philosophy is characterized by clarity of prose and rigor in arguments, making use of formal logic and mathematics, and, to a lesser degree, the natural sciences.

Analytic philosophy is often understood in contrast to other philosophical traditions, most notably continental philosophies such as existentialism, phenomenology, and Hegelianism.