Logical Empiricism: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
edited by Paolo Parrini, Wesley C. Salmon and Merrilee H. Salmon
University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003 Paper: 978-0-8229-5949-6 | eISBN: 978-0-8229-7072-9 | Cloth: 978-0-8229-4194-1 Library of Congress Classification B824.6.L6225 2003 Dewey Decimal Classification 146.42
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Logical empiricism, a program for the study of science that attempted to provide logical analyses of the nature of scientific concepts, the relation between evidence and theory, and the nature of scientific explanation, formed among the famed Vienna and Berlin Circles of the 1920s and '30s and dominated the philosophy of science throughout much of the twentieth century. In recent decades, a "post-positivist" philosophy, deriding empiricism and its claims in light of more recent historical and sociological discoveries, has been the ascendant mode of philosophy and other disciplines in the arts and sciences.
This book features original research that challenges such broad oppositions. In eleven essays, leading scholars from many nations construct a more nuanced understanding of logical empiricism, its history, and development, offering promising implications for current philosophy of science debates.
Tapping rich resources of unpublished material from archives in Haarlem, Konstanz, Pittsburgh, and Vienna, contributors conduct a deep investigation into the origins and development of the Vienna and Berlin Circles. They expose the roots of the philosophy in such varied sources as Cassirer, Poincaire, Husserl, Heidegger, and Wittgenstein. Important connections between the empiricists and other movements--neo-empiricism, British empiricism--are vigorously explored.
Building on these historical studies, a critical reevaluation emerges that shrinks the distance between old and new philosophers of science, between "analytic" and "Continental" philosophy. A number of compelling recent debates, including those involving Kuhn, Feyerabend, Hesse, Glymour, and Hanson, are reopened to show the ways in which logical empiricist theory can still be validly applied.
Logical Empiricism is the result of a remarkable conference, convened in the spirit of reflection and international cooperation, that took place in Florence, Italy, in 1999.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Paolo Parrini, full professor of theoretical philosophy at the University of Florence and past president of the Italian Society of Analytical Philosophy, is the author of numerous works on epistemology, philosophy of science, and history of science.
Wesley C. Salmon was University Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, at the University of Pittsburgh at the time of his death in 2001. He is best known for his work on scientific explanation and causation.
Merrilee H. Salmon, professor emerita of history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh, is the author of Introduction to Logic & Critical Thinking, Fourth Edition, and coauthor of Introduction to Philosophy of Science, among her many other publications.
REVIEWS
“A nicely balanced collection that combines careful historical study with an eye on current debates in the philosophy of science and mind.” —Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook
“Of special interest to anyone interested in the history of 20th-century philosophy or in logical empiricism. Recommended.” —Choice
"Should not be missed by anyone interested in logical empiricism, or in the history and legacy of analytic philosophy more generally."
—Erich Reck, University of California, Riverside
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Parrini,
Paolo
Salmon,
Wesley
I.
Turning Points and Fundamental Controversies
A Turning Point in Philosophy: Carnap-Cassirer-Heidegger
Friedman,
Michael
Carnap's “Elimination of Metaphysics through Logical Analysis of Language”: A Retrospective Consideration of the Relationship between Continental and Analytic Philosophy
Gabriel,
Gottfried
Schlick and Husserl on the Essence of Knowledge
Lanfredini,
Roberta
Carnap versus Gödel on Syntax and Tolerance
Awodey,
S.
Carus,
A. W.
II.
On the Origins and Development of the Vienna Circle
On the Austrian Roots of Logical Empiricism: The Case of the First Vienna Circle
Uebel,
Thomas
On the International Encyclopedia, the Neurath-Carnap Disputes, and the Second World War
Reisch,
George
Carl Gustav Hempel: Pragmatic Empiricist
Wolters,
Gereon
III.
The Riddle of Wittgenstein
The Methods of the Tractatus: Beyond Positivism and Metaphysics?
Stern,
David G.
IV.
Philosophy of Physics
Two Roads from Kant: Cassirer, Reichenbach, and General Relativity
Ryckman,
T. A.
Vienna Indeterminism II: From Exner to Frank and von Mises
Stöltzner,
Michael
V.
The Mind-Body Problem
The Mind-Body Problem in the Origin of Logical Empiricism: Herbert Feigl and Psychophysical Parallelism
Heidelberger,
Michael
Logical Positivism and the Mind-Body Problem
Kim,
Jaegwon
VI.
Scientific Rationality
Kinds of Probabilism
Galavotti,
Maria Carla
Smooth Lines in Confirmation Theory: Carnap, Hempel, and the Moderns
Carrier,
Martin
Changing Conceptions of Rationality: From Logical Empiricism to Postpositivism
Irzik,
Gürol
VII.
Nonlinguistic Empiricism
Reason and Perception In Defense of a Non-Linguistic Version of Empiricism
Parrini,
Paolo
Commit It Then to the Flames …
Salmon,
Wesley C.
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Logical Empiricism: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
edited by Paolo Parrini, Wesley C. Salmon and Merrilee H. Salmon
University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003 Paper: 978-0-8229-5949-6 eISBN: 978-0-8229-7072-9 Cloth: 978-0-8229-4194-1
Logical empiricism, a program for the study of science that attempted to provide logical analyses of the nature of scientific concepts, the relation between evidence and theory, and the nature of scientific explanation, formed among the famed Vienna and Berlin Circles of the 1920s and '30s and dominated the philosophy of science throughout much of the twentieth century. In recent decades, a "post-positivist" philosophy, deriding empiricism and its claims in light of more recent historical and sociological discoveries, has been the ascendant mode of philosophy and other disciplines in the arts and sciences.
This book features original research that challenges such broad oppositions. In eleven essays, leading scholars from many nations construct a more nuanced understanding of logical empiricism, its history, and development, offering promising implications for current philosophy of science debates.
Tapping rich resources of unpublished material from archives in Haarlem, Konstanz, Pittsburgh, and Vienna, contributors conduct a deep investigation into the origins and development of the Vienna and Berlin Circles. They expose the roots of the philosophy in such varied sources as Cassirer, Poincaire, Husserl, Heidegger, and Wittgenstein. Important connections between the empiricists and other movements--neo-empiricism, British empiricism--are vigorously explored.
Building on these historical studies, a critical reevaluation emerges that shrinks the distance between old and new philosophers of science, between "analytic" and "Continental" philosophy. A number of compelling recent debates, including those involving Kuhn, Feyerabend, Hesse, Glymour, and Hanson, are reopened to show the ways in which logical empiricist theory can still be validly applied.
Logical Empiricism is the result of a remarkable conference, convened in the spirit of reflection and international cooperation, that took place in Florence, Italy, in 1999.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Paolo Parrini, full professor of theoretical philosophy at the University of Florence and past president of the Italian Society of Analytical Philosophy, is the author of numerous works on epistemology, philosophy of science, and history of science.
Wesley C. Salmon was University Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, at the University of Pittsburgh at the time of his death in 2001. He is best known for his work on scientific explanation and causation.
Merrilee H. Salmon, professor emerita of history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh, is the author of Introduction to Logic & Critical Thinking, Fourth Edition, and coauthor of Introduction to Philosophy of Science, among her many other publications.
REVIEWS
“A nicely balanced collection that combines careful historical study with an eye on current debates in the philosophy of science and mind.” —Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook
“Of special interest to anyone interested in the history of 20th-century philosophy or in logical empiricism. Recommended.” —Choice
"Should not be missed by anyone interested in logical empiricism, or in the history and legacy of analytic philosophy more generally."
—Erich Reck, University of California, Riverside
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Parrini,
Paolo
Salmon,
Wesley
I.
Turning Points and Fundamental Controversies
A Turning Point in Philosophy: Carnap-Cassirer-Heidegger
Friedman,
Michael
Carnap's “Elimination of Metaphysics through Logical Analysis of Language”: A Retrospective Consideration of the Relationship between Continental and Analytic Philosophy
Gabriel,
Gottfried
Schlick and Husserl on the Essence of Knowledge
Lanfredini,
Roberta
Carnap versus Gödel on Syntax and Tolerance
Awodey,
S.
Carus,
A. W.
II.
On the Origins and Development of the Vienna Circle
On the Austrian Roots of Logical Empiricism: The Case of the First Vienna Circle
Uebel,
Thomas
On the International Encyclopedia, the Neurath-Carnap Disputes, and the Second World War
Reisch,
George
Carl Gustav Hempel: Pragmatic Empiricist
Wolters,
Gereon
III.
The Riddle of Wittgenstein
The Methods of the Tractatus: Beyond Positivism and Metaphysics?
Stern,
David G.
IV.
Philosophy of Physics
Two Roads from Kant: Cassirer, Reichenbach, and General Relativity
Ryckman,
T. A.
Vienna Indeterminism II: From Exner to Frank and von Mises
Stöltzner,
Michael
V.
The Mind-Body Problem
The Mind-Body Problem in the Origin of Logical Empiricism: Herbert Feigl and Psychophysical Parallelism
Heidelberger,
Michael
Logical Positivism and the Mind-Body Problem
Kim,
Jaegwon
VI.
Scientific Rationality
Kinds of Probabilism
Galavotti,
Maria Carla
Smooth Lines in Confirmation Theory: Carnap, Hempel, and the Moderns
Carrier,
Martin
Changing Conceptions of Rationality: From Logical Empiricism to Postpositivism
Irzik,
Gürol
VII.
Nonlinguistic Empiricism
Reason and Perception In Defense of a Non-Linguistic Version of Empiricism
Parrini,
Paolo
Commit It Then to the Flames …
Salmon,
Wesley C.
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE