Analytic philosophy is perhaps the most dominant approach to philosophy in the Anglo-American tradition. If you do or professionally teach philosophy, in English at least, whether in colleges or universitites, then you most likely will be doing it in the analytic way. You may even identify yourself as an analytic philosopher.
Analytic Philosophy is difficult to define (which important concept or method isn't?) and experts will tell you that there is no consensus over what 'analytic philosophy' means, what its aims, concerns, methods and successes are. However, one common conception of Analytic Philosophy identifies it with the following intellectual virtues:
In addition to the above, other experts argue that Analytic Philosophy exhibits other virtues not immediately associated with it but can be just as important:
We could then descriptively conclude by saying that Analytic Philosophy is an approach to philosophy that seeks out clarity, precision and rigour but also involves creativity with an aim to be productive and systematic.
A very small representataive list of the figures in the Analytic Philosophy tradition from pioneers, explorers to developers and paradigm shifters along with a key work include the following:
Gottlob Frege (1848-1925): Über Sinn und Bedeutung
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970): On Denoting
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970): Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951): Philosophische Untersuchungen
Rudolf Carnap (1891-1970): Meaning and Necessity
Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976): The Concept of Mind
Paul Grice (1913-1988): Studies in the Way of Words
C.G. Hempel (1905–1997) : Aspects of Scientific Explanation
W.V. Quine (1908-2000): Word and Object
Saul Kripke (1940-): Naming and Necessity
David Lewis (1941-2001): Counterfactuals
Hilary Putnam (1926-2016): Reason, Truth and History
Bas Van Fraassen (1941-): The Scientific Image
David Chalmers (1966-): The Conscious Mind
Some useful works outlining the gestation and development of Analytic Philosophy as well as its aims, method and significance are the following: