Karl Sigmund, Exact Thinking in Demented Times: The Vienna Circle and the Epic Quest for the Foundations of Science

This book is a historical study of influential currents in the philosophy of language and linguistics of the first half of the twentieth century, explored from the perspective of the English scholar C. K. Ogden (1889–1957). Although no ‘Great Man’ in his own right, Ogden had a personal connection, reflected in his work, to several of the most significant figures of the age. The background to the ideas espoused in Ogden’s book The Meaning of Meaning, co-authored with I.A. Richards (1893–1979), is examined in detail, along with the application of these ideas in his international language project Basic English. A richly interlaced network of connections is revealed between early analytic philosophy, semiotics and linguistics, all inevitably shaped by the contemporary cultural and political environment. In particular, significant interaction is shown between Ogden’s ideas, the varying versions of ‘logical atomism’ of Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) and Ludwig Wittgensten (1889–1951), Victoria Lady Welby’s (1837–1912) ‘significs’, and the philosophy and political activism of Otto Neurath (1882–1945) and Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970) of the Vienna Circle. Amid these interactions emerges a previously little known mutual exchange between the academic philosophy and linguistics of the period and the practically oriented efforts of the international language movement.

Download Full-text

Points of convergence between logical empiricism and inductive metaphysics: Hans Reichenbach and Erich Becher in comparison

Synthese ◽

10.1007/s11229-021-03280-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ansgar Seide

Keyword(s):

20Th Century ◽

19Th Century ◽

Vienna Circle ◽

External World ◽

Logical Empiricism ◽

Natural Sciences ◽

Early 20Th Century ◽

Late 19Th Century ◽

Hans Reichenbach

AbstractIn this paper, I take a closer look at Hans Reichenbach’s relation to metaphysics and work out some interesting parallels between his account and that of the proponents of inductive metaphysics, a tradition that emerged in the mid- and late 19th century and the early 20th century in Germany. It is in particular Hans Reichenbach’s conception of the relation between the natural sciences and metaphysics, as displayed in his treatment of the question of the existence of the external world, that shows some very interesting similarities with inductive metaphysics. By a comparison with the position of the inductive metaphysician Erich Becher and his handling of the problem of realism, I work out the parallels between Reichenbach’s program and inductive metaphysics. I come to the conclusion that while there are certainly some respects in which Reichenbach’s logical empiricism is closer to the positions of the representatives of the Vienna Circle, it turns out that with regard to his views on metaphysics there is a greater affinity with the program of inductive metaphysics.

Download Full-text

Reactionaries of the lectern: Universalism, anti-empiricism and corporatism in Austrian (and German) social theory

European Journal of Social Theory ◽

10.1177/1368431021992205 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 285-305

Author(s):

Alan Scott ◽

Silvia Rief

Keyword(s):

Empirical Research ◽

Social Theory ◽

Vienna Circle ◽

Social Thought ◽

Grand Theory ◽

Institutional Power ◽

German Speaking ◽

Opposite View ◽

The Relationship ◽

Early Manifestation

This article discusses one early manifestation of a recurring theme in social theory and sociology: the relationship between general (‘universal’ or ‘grand’) theory and empirical research. For the early critical theorists, empiricism and positivism were associated with technocratic domination. However, there was one place where the opposite view prevailed: science and empiricism were viewed as forces of social and political progress and speculative social theory as a force of reaction. That place was Red Vienna of the 1920s and early 1930s. We examine how this view came to be widespread among Austro-Marxists, empirical researchers and some members of the Vienna Circle. It focuses on the arguments and institutional power of their opponents: reactionary, universalistic and corporatist social theorists. The debate between Catholic corporatist theory and its empiricist critics is located not merely in Vienna but also within wider debates in the German-speaking world. Finally, we seek to link these lesser-known positions to more familiar strands of social thought, namely, those associated with Weber and, more briefly, Durkheim and Elias.

Download Full-text

Pictorial Statistics Following the Vienna Method

ARTMargins ◽

10.1162/artm_a_00169 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 108-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Otto Neurath

Keyword(s):

General Structure ◽

Vienna Circle ◽

Historical Background ◽

Basic Knowledge ◽

Educational Achievements ◽

Historical Significance ◽

Visual Pedagogy ◽

Austrian Tradition ◽

Philosophical Debates ◽

International Social

This text introduces a programmatic text of Otto Neurath on the educational use of the method of pictorial statistics. Neurath emphasizes the importance of a visual method to transfer scientific knowledge to popular audiences. At the same time, his Vienna Method attempts to adapt the popular educational strategy to an increasingly visual modernity. The specific educational interest of Neurath's Vienna Method consists in political education, in transferring basic knowledge about the general structure and dominant developments of society. His program thus echoes his contemporaries’ debates on the possibilities of social realism. To understand the historical significance of Neurath the introductory text accentuates three lines of possible discussion. It points out the importance of Neurath's visual pedagogy for the tradition of contemporary discussions around the so-called Bildwissenschaften. It also contextualizes Neurath's visual pedagogy in the Austrian tradition of Second International Social Democracy and in the context of the philosophical debates of the Vienna circle. Against this double historical background, the text eventually tries to understand the educational achievements and political pitfalls of Neurath's attempt to represent general societal developments visually.

Download Full-text