In Vienna in the 1920s a group of brilliant philosophers, mathematicians and scientists - led by figures including Moritz Schlick, Otto Neurath, Rudolf Carnap and Hans Hahn - gathered to discuss the foundations of science and mathematics. Known as the Vienna Circle, they proposed to practice philosophy in continuity with science; their movement became known as Logical Empiricism.
In this highly engaging book, Sahotra Sarkar tells the story of one hundred years of Logical Empiricism, from its beginnings in 1924 to its legacy today. He explains how its ideas, influenced by revolutionary theories of space, time, and causality of that time, led to a quest for a unified theory of science. He shows how their commitment to logic and objectivity provided a powerful political antidote to Nazi racism and obscurantism. He charts the decline of the movement after many members, who had fled to the United States during World War Two, were presumed to have communist sympathies. He argues that the ideas of the movement continue to be relevant today.
A superb evocation of one of the most important intellectual movements of the twentieth century, The Vienna Circle: The Story of Logical Empiricism will be of great value to anyone interested in philosophy, history, and the history of science.
Preface
1. Hapsburg Origins: The First Vienna Circle
2. In Einstein’s Shadow: The Reign of Relativity
3. From Red Vienna: A Blazing Manifesto
4. Musicians without Musical Ability: The Rejection of Metaphysics
5. Radical Empiricism: Physics and the Unity of Science
6. Logic by Convention: The Veil of Tolerance
7. Lurching towards the Holocaust: Globalization, Murder, Exile
8. The Icy Slopes of Logic: Reconfiguration in the United States
9. The Legacy: Philosophy and Science in the Twenty-First Century.
Acknowledgments
Sources
References
Index
Biography
Sahotra Sarkar is Professor of Philosophy and of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. He is the author of ten books, including Doubting Darwin: Creationist Designs on Evolution, and Environmental Philosophy: From Theory to Practice. He serves on the editorial boards of the journals BioScience and Evolutionary Theory.
"A short but hugely significant volume which presents a new story about the Vienna Circle at the occasion of its centenary. What also makes it special is the personality of the author: a trained philosopher and scientist with a good historical vein, who learnt many of his perspectives from students of the leading logical empiricists. It is a well-written, comprehensive book with an engaging narrative." - Adam Tamas Tuboly, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
"The best, short account of the history and broader significance of the Vienna Circle." - Jordi Cat, Indiana University, USA
