Rudolf Carnap developed three central strategies to avoid metaphysics: an eliminativist/verificationist approach; an accommodating/confirmationist strategy, and reconceptualizing/framework-dependent viewpoint. After critically assessing each of them, focusing especially on the framework-dependent one, I outline an alternative that preserves the central elements of Carnap’s overall conception while still maintaining the proper dose of skepticism regarding metaphysics that is crucial to empiricism. A more defensible empiricist stance then results.