The aim of this article is to offer an analysis of early Russell’s theories of acquaintance and description. He tried to offer a solution to the Meinong’s problem of non-existent entities, and used formal logic to develop a theory of definite descriptions which was related to the epistemological principle of acquaintance. I agree to the view that the historical Russell changed some of his views, but the principle of acquaintance remained “the structural core” in his philosophy. I try to argue that acquaintance is also a regulative principle in his logical atomism, even if at the first glance his main interest was another. The problem of the so-called propositional constituents brings to light this hidden presupposition and reveals again his empiricist view fixed in a relational framework.
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