虽然当代哲学家围绕分析哲学的性质问题还存在各种不同观点,但分析哲学成为当代哲学的基础内容和基本方法已成为不争的事实。哲学家们对分析哲学性质的讨论,一方面是出于历史的考虑,另一方面缘于分析哲学研究进入21世纪后发生的深刻变化,使得哲学家们需要不断澄清这些变化是否影响到分析哲学本身,或者说是否改变了人们对分析哲学的传统理解。从分析哲学家们的讨论中可以看出,他们的工作完全不是在论证思想,而是在讨论对思想的表达方式;他们的工作虽然不属于自然科学,但他们对思想的客观性的理解和表达,却能很好地使哲学的思想可以直接被运用在自然科学领域的研究之中,由此对自然科学研究产生更为深远的影响。出于反叛德国古典哲学唯心主义的分析哲学,应当被看作是对西方哲学传统的真正回归。因此,分析哲学其实是康德之前的西方近代哲学在当代的思想延续。
It is indisputable that analytic philosophy has been committed by most philosophers in contemporary times, though there are varieties of different perspectives on the nature of analytic philosophy itself. There might be, at least, two reasons why philosophers dispute on the nature of analytic philosophy. They consider it historically on the one hand, and on the other hand, philosophers need to clarify the change which happened to analytic philosophy in the 21th century, whether it influences the analytic philosophy or change our traditional understanding of analytic philosophy. It can be seen from discussions among analytic philosophers that their work is not to argue for thoughts but, to discuss ways of expression of thoughts; that it does not belong to any kind of natural sciences but, influence to the study of natural sciences by its understanding and expression of objective thoughts imposed on natural sciences. Analytic philosophy revolted to classic German idealism should be considered as the continuity of modern philosophy priori to Kant.