Abstract

The essay examines the fortune of the reductionist attitude in the post-Hegelian philosophy, analysing the presence of the formula «nothing but» in key passages of the works of some relevant figures of that period. Then we present the reflections of three authors (Wittgenstein, Jung and Feigl) that in the first half of the 20th century have clearly (and independently) highlighted the limits and risks of the philosophies of the «nothing but». In the end, some general epistemological conclusions are drawn.