Rationality and Science: A Memorial Volume for Moritz Schlick in Celebration of the Centennial of His BirthEugene T. Gadol Moritz Schlick was the leader of the Vienna Circle, that distinguished group of analytic thinkers who played such an important role in the second quarter of this century that in the words of Sir A. J. Ayer "no subsequent work of any philosophical interest has been unaf fected by it. " Inspired by the unparalleled achievements of the natural sciences and of mathematics Schlick and his colleagues strove to bring about through new and exacting methods of analysis a revo lution in philosophy which would be crowned with accomplishments that would parallel those of the sciences. Such a revolution did take place - not in Vienna but in the English speaking world and elsewhere. At its base lay the discovery (due to Gottlob Frege) that logic is neither tied to thinking nor to natural language and Schlick had correctly identified the turning point in philosophy as the mo ment in which this discovery was made and exploited. Henceforth the key-problems in philosophy of science, epistemology, ethics and philosophy of language were to be stated with maximum preci sion, their central concepts subjected to careful analysis, the results rigorously systematized and, wherever possible, axiomatized. The authors who followed the invitation to celebrate the Cen tennial in these pages, have been in one way or another affected by the Vienna Circle. |
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A. J. Ayer acts analysis analytic analytic propositions Austria basic C. I. Lewis called Carnap causal certainty claim cognitive concepts consciousness course critical common sense definition determine determinist Diophantine equation empirical empiricist Erkenntnis Ernst Mach ethics existence experience expression fact Feigl formal fundamental propositions geometry German text Hahn Heath Hume Ibid ideas identity ideology intellectual intuitive Kant Konstatierungen language logic logical positivism Mach mathematics mental merely metaphysical method Moritz Schlick Mulder natural numbers Nelböck Neurath never notion objects observation Otto Neurath paper partitioning Philipp Frank philos philosophy physical positivists pragmatic predicate principle problem protocol propositions protocol sentences psychological question Rationality and Science relation rules Russell sceptical scientific set theory solution statements structure synthetic Tarski theoretical Theory of Knowledge theory of meaning tion Tractatus trans translation truth unity University University of Vienna Velde-Schlick verifiability Vienna Circle Waismann Wien Wittgenstein