DOCSLIB.ORG

Carnap and the Ontology of Mathematics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Carnap and the Ontology of Mathematics Carnap and the Ontology of Mathematics Benjamin Marschall Darwin College, University of Cambridge February 2020 This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Declaration This thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the out- come of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and speci- fied in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no sub- stantial part of my thesis has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee. Abstract Carnap and the Ontology of Mathematics Benjamin Marschall In this thesis I investigate Rudolf Carnap’s philosophy of mathematics. Most philosophers assume that the nature of mathematics raises deep philosophical questions, which call for theories about how we manage to know about and interact with abstract objects. Carnap’s position, in contrast, is deflationary: he aims to show that we can take mathematics at face value without having to answer questions about the metaphysical status of mathematical objects. If Carnap is right, there is thus no need for a philosophy of mathematics as it is usually understood at all. The main argument of my thesis is that Carnap’s position is unstable, since his own commitments force him to make at least some ontological assumptions about syntax, i.e. entities such as letters, strings, and proofs. My claim that Carnap needs to accept some ontological questions as being in good shape goes against the received view in the secondary literature. Since the late 1980s interest in Carnap’s philosophy of mathematics has been growing, mostly in the wake of important papers by Michael Friedman, Warren Goldfarb, and Thomas Ricketts. These and other scholars have forcefully defended Car- nap against objections by, among others, Kurt Gödel, W. V. Quine, and Hilary Putnam. The most powerful challenge to Carnap’s view, however, can actually be found in a less well-known paper by the logician E. W. Beth. The core of my thesis is thus a new interpretation of what I call Beth’s argument from non- standard models, which relies on Gödel’s incompleteness theorems and targets Carnap’s claim that mathematics is analytic. I show that my reconstruction of Beth’s argument is more charitable to the text than competing interpretations in the secondary literature, and argue that it is also more powerful since extant defences of Carnap cannot be applied. Acknowledgements I have been doing philosophy for nearly ten years now, and there are many people to thank. Starting with those who most directly contributed to making this thesis a reality, I thank Tim Button for being an amazing supervisor: always positive and encouraging, always full of good ideas, and as engaged as ever even after leaving Cambridge for UCL. I could not have written this thesis without him. Alex Oliver was an excellent secondary supervisor, especially during the final stretch when he read and commented on a full draft. I know that not everyone is in the lucky position to have both their supervisors read their thesis before submission, so I am very grateful for the support. I also thank Michael Potter who, in a memorable first-year review meeting together with Alex, suggested that looking at the history of analytic philosophy might be the best way to tackle the issues I was interested in. I had considered working on Carnap before, but was put off by the fact that this seemed hard work. I am glad that this time I received a push in the right direction at the right moment. The philosophy graduate community at Cambridge has made the time dur- ing which I have been working on this thesis particularly enjoyable. Special thanks go to Annie Bosse, Bertie Probyn, Lucy McDonald, Nathan Hawkins, Makan Nojoumian, Paula Keller, Senthuran Bhuvanendra, Sofía Melendez Gutier- rez, Wouter Cohen, and the honorary graduate students Alex Jackson and Thomas Schindler. Many of them have given helpful feedback and advice more than once, and I hope that all at least somewhat enjoyed my Carnap-anecdotes. The late Hugh Mellor not only was an unusually warm and welcoming pres- ence in the Faculty, but, to my amazement, even gave me a copy of the Schilpp- volume on Carnap with scribbled notes by Paul Feyerabend in it. He is greatly missed. In early 2020 I visited the University of Pittsburgh for a term in order to work with Thomas Ricketts. I thank Tom for being so generous with his time in order to talk through Beth and Carnap, for yet another book present (this time a copy of The Logical Syntax of Language), and for being extremely support- ive during a turbulent mid-March. The meetings with him were very energis- ing and led me to re-think my interpretation of Beth, which ultimately enabled me to give a much clearer account of the core argument. Consulting the un- published material in the Rudolf Carnap Papers was also stimulating, and I thank the always helpful staff at Archives of Scientific Philosophy. Other people who made my time in Pittsburgh pleasant were Christian Feldbacher-Escamilla, Clemens Wetcholowsky, Patrick Chandler, Sander Verhaegh, Sophia Arbeiter, and Stephen Mackereth. Before coming to Cambridge I studied in Berlin and St Andrews. For Berlin I first and foremost thank Tobias Rosefeldt for the continued support, and also Barbara Vetter, Emanuel Viebahn, Lukas Lewerentz, Karl-Georg Niebergall, Mar- tin Aigner, Olaf Müller, Roland Krause, and Timo Schobinger for being inspira- tional in various ways. For St Andrews greetings go to the Stirling Bus Crew, especially to Jakob Ohlhorst and Xintong Wei. Material drawn from this thesis has been presented at talks in Bratislava, Cambridge, Munich, Oxford, and Tilburg, and I thank the respective audiences for their comments and questions. Papers based on the thesis are or have been under review at Erkenntnis and the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, and many of the referee reports I received have been helpful and constructive. I also thank Eckehart Köhler for a long conversation about the relationship between Carnap and Gödel, Gary Ebbs for giving detailed answers to my questions about his in- terpretation of Carnap via email, Hannes Leitgeb for sending me a version of his and André Carus’ SEP entry on Carnap before it went online, and Jared Warren for sending me a pre-print of his intriguing book-length defence of mathematical conventionalism. The Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Cambridge Trust, the Aris- totelian Society, the Royal Institute of Philosophy, and the German-American Fulbright Commission provided the funding that made my research possible in the first place, and for this I am very grateful. It is unhealthy to think about philosophy all the time, and so thanks go to the members of the Cambridge University Rambling Club for igniting my passion for the East Anglian countryside. I thank my parents for always being supportive and enthusiastic about what- ever I do, even though I often struggle to explain the exact nature of my pursuits to them. Last but certainly not least, I thank Clara for everything. v Contents Introduction 1 Part I Carnap and Mathematics 5 Chapter 1 Carnap’s Internalism 6 1.1 Platonism and Frameworks . 6 1.1.1 Who’s a Platonist? . 6 1.1.2 Linguistic Frameworks . 11 1.1.3 Internal Platonism . 16 1.2 Analyticity and Conventionalism . 21 1.2.1 Truth and Linguistic Rules . 21 1.2.2 Is this Conventionalism? . 25 1.2.3 Carnap’s Deflationism . 28 Chapter 2 Gödel and Incompleteness 33 2.1 Linguistic Rules Revisited . 33 2.1.1 Syntactic Rules and Their Limits . 33 2.1.2 The Nature of Frameworks . 38 2.1.3 Towards Internalism . 41 2.2 Gödel’s Consistency Argument . 48 2.2.1 Is Mathematics Syntax of Language? . 48 2.2.2 Content and Knowledge . 52 2.2.3 Frameworks and Natural Language . 56 Chapter 3 A Quinean Interlude 61 3.1 The Carnap-Quine Debate . 61 3.2 Quine’s Triviality Objection . 65 Contents Contents Part II Beth versus Carnap 70 Chapter 4 Beth’s Argument from Non-Standard Models 71 4.1 Carnap and Carnap* . 71 4.1.1 Introducing Carnap* . 71 4.1.2 What’s the Problem? . 77 4.1.3 Metalanguages and How to Use Them . 81 4.2 Tolerance and Abstract Objects . 86 4.2.1 Against Infinitary Rules . 86 4.2.2 Ontology and Ontological Commitments . 90 4.2.3 The Determinacy of Syntax . 95 Chapter 5 Alternative Interpretations of Beth 100 5.1 Beth and Model-Theoretic Arguments . 100 5.1.1 Non-Standard Interpretations . 100 5.1.2 Ricketts on Beth and Skolem . 103 5.1.3 Exegetical Traps and Pitfalls . 107 5.2 Other Approaches . 111 5.2.1 Friedman for and against Beth . 111 5.2.2 Who Is Speaking? . 116 5.2.3 Explication . 121 Chapter 6 Radical Deflationism 127 6.1 Carnap and Semantic Facts . 127 6.2 Wittgenstein’s Radical Conventionalism . 133 6.3 Is there a Middle Way? . 137 Part III Beyond Logical Syntax 142 Chapter 7 Lines of Defence 143 7.1 Internalism and Pluralism .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Abraham Kaplan Papers 0054
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c86q1z11 No online items Abraham Kaplan Papers 0054 California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives 3801 West Temple Avenue Pomona, CA 91768 [email protected] 909-869-3775 Abraham Kaplan Papers 0054 0054 1 Title: Abraham Kaplan Papers Creator: Kaplan, Abraham, 1918-1993 Identifier/Call Number: 0054 Contributing Institution: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives Language of Material: English Physical Description: 17 boxes Date (inclusive): 1942-1989 Abstract: Abraham Kaplan (1918-1993) was a philosopher, an author and an educator. His collection contains correspondence, articles, lectures, speeches, book manuscripts, subject files, notes, and printed matter pertaining to his writings and academic career. Conditions Governing Access Advance notice required for access. Conditions Governing Use Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder. Preferred Citation [Box/folder# or item name], Abraham Kaplan Papers, Collection no. 0054, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Immediate Source of Acquisition The collection was transferred to the University Archives by Professor of Philosophy James Manley in 2001. Biographical / Historical Abraham Kaplan (1918-1993) was an American philosopher with a long and distinguished career. He was born June 11, 1918 to parents Joseph J. (a Rabbi) and Chava (Lerner) Kaplan in Odessa, Ukraine. Kaplan and his family immigrated to the United States in 1923 and he became a naturalized citizen in 1930. A student of philosopher Bertrand Russell, he graduated from the College of St.
    [Show full text]
  • Rudolf Carnap Papers, 1920-1968
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf7q2nb520 No online items Finding Aid for the Rudolf Carnap papers, 1920-1968 Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé UCLA Library Special Collections UCLA Library Special Collections staff Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library Box 951575 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/ © 1998 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Note Arts and Humanities --PhilosophyHistory --History, University of California --History, UC Los AngelesGeographical (By Place) --University of California --University of California Los Angeles Finding Aid for the Rudolf Carnap 1029 1 papers, 1920-1968 Finding Aid for the Rudolf Carnap papers, 1920-1968 Collection number: 1029 UCLA Library Special Collections UCLA Library Special Collections staff Los Angeles, CA Contact Information UCLA Library Special Collections staff UCLA Library Special Collections Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library Box 951575 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575 Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time) Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/ Processed by: UCLA Library Special Collections staff, 1998 Encoded by: Caroline Cubé Online finding aid edited by: Josh Fiala, June 2002 © 1998 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Rudolf Carnap papers, Date (inclusive): 1920-1968 Collection number: 1029 Creator: Carnap, Rudolf, 1891-1970 Extent: 56 boxes (28 linear ft.) Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Origins of Carnap's Aufbau from Reductive Empiricism to The
    The publication of this book was supported by the Student Union of ELTE University and the Student Union of the Faculty of Humanities at ELTE University. Published by the Philosophy Workshop of Eötvös József Collegium Budapest, 2016 Director of publication: Dr. László Horváth Edited by Megyer Gyöngyösi, Zsolt Kapelner, Zsófia Ádám, István Faragó-Szabó Cover design by Hunor Gyöngyösi Designed by Zsófia Machó isbn © 2016 Philosophy Workshop of Eötvös József Collegium © The authors On the Origins of Carnap’s Aufbau From reductive empiricism 13 to the Geisteswissenschaften Ádám Tamás Tuboly Rudolf Carnap’s Der logische Aufbau der Welt is considered to be the magnum opus of (early) analytic philosophy. Contrary to this analytic tradition stands, as the saying goes, everything else – the so called continental philosophies. It has been highlighted recently, however, that the contexts of the Aufbaudiffer radically from the usual received view. In order to obtain a better picture of (the influences of) the Aufbau, I will present in Sect. 1 the received view which characterizes the book as a reductive empiricist, foundationalist and phenomenalist work. In Sect. 2 I will show step-by-step that this view is mistaken and the influences on the Aufbau could be located around Neo-Kantianism, the philosophy of Husserl and the human sciences [Geisteswissenschaften]. The contribution of this paper is connected to these approaches and argues for a different and currently unanalyzed and mainly ignored aspect of Carnap’s work, namely his theory of geistige Gegenstände. After all, I will claim that the motivations and continental roots of the Aufbau are just much deeper than it is usually thought.
    [Show full text]
  • Michigan State University 1956
    AN INVESTIGATION OF THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN HISTQRY AND SCIENCE Thesis Ice II“ Dogma OI M. A. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Rolf A. George 1956 AH INVESTIGATION OF THE DISTIHUTIOH BE JESH HISTORY AND SCIEHCE A'EEBIS Submitted to the College of Science and Arts of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of HAS”ER OF ARTS Department of PhilOSOphy 1950 15-23515 1 i,"' and"? hub." 'fj“"r"'| ‘iCAL;.CJ-4l—I‘JUIJ"~L‘J.LQ“L The author wisIes to express his grateful thanks to Professors Henry 8. Leonard and Lewis K. Zerby for their help and encouragement throughout the course of this investigation. r'1 ' "-T :‘1 ‘. ‘1 M-":? rm“ z ‘ lejr‘“ .LAULLLI (JL‘ Ubulpulo Introductory Jote I4 he Referential Ambiguity of "History” #- Hominai'sm and Realism Concerning "Philo- sophy of history” Science and History mhe Ontologies of Science and history History and Epistemology: Preliminaries History and Epistemology I listory and epistemology II History an Epistemology III p; History 9.) nd Value History and Unified Science An Attempt to Define ”Statement of History" Iindelband's Theory Concernine 0 Subjects and Predicates Concluding hemarhs Footnotes Bibliography Ah II‘EDTIGATION OF THE DISTINCTION BBTJEEN HISTORY AND SCIENCE Introductory hote The purpose of this paper is twofold: On the one hand, it is to discuss some attempts that have been made to find criteria for the discrimination of science from history. On the other hand, it is to offer, tentatively, one such criter- io.. The paper begins by discussing the ambiguity of the word "history," and pointing out some difficulties that have ensued from neglecting this ambiguity.
    [Show full text]
  • Carnap on the Mind-Body Problem and Non-Classical Reductionism
    Carnap on the Mind-Body Problem and Non-Classical Reductionism Christian J. Feldbacher-Escamilla Autumn 2020 Motivation Introduction Observation: We often find a gap of dealing with traditional philosophical topics within analytic philosophy. Examples: • Metaphysics: elimination ) Kripke's essentialism • Ethics: meta-ethics ) Frankena's analytic normative ethics . • Philosophy of Mind: mind-body pseudo-problem ) Feigl's rehabilita- tion In this talk we focus on the mind-body problem \gap" in analytic philosophy. Carnap on the Mind-Body Problem 1 / 28 Motivation Introduction Ad gap: \[I]t was the papers by Smart and Feigl that introduced the mind- body problem as a mainstream metaphysical Problematik of ana- lytical philosophy, and launched the debate that has continued to this day" (Kim 2000, p.1) This expresses the widely held view that the current debate on the mind- body problem in analytic philosophy began during the 1950s at two distinct sources: • in the US deriving from Herbert Feigl's writings (particularly 1958) • in Australia related to writings by J.J.C. Smart (particularly 1959) Carnap on the Mind-Body Problem 2 / 28 Motivation Introduction Recent interest in this field: (Kim 2003), (Heidelberger 2003), (Crawford forthcoming) Brings to the fore: Feigl was important, but relied heavily on Schlick and Carnap. Schlick: double-language theory (some form of \epistemic" identity theory) Carnap: revision of views due to his discussions with Carnap Carnap on the Mind-Body Problem 3 / 28 Motivation Introduction Feigl was important, because of . • . his propaganda for Logical Positivism: A New Movement in Euro- pean Philosophy (published 1931, in the Journal of Philosophy), • .
    [Show full text]
  • Carnap, Reichenbach and the Great Intellectual Migration. Part II: Hans Reichenbach.” Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 8(11): 24–47
    Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy Coming to America: Carnap, Reichenbach and the Volume 8, Number 11 Great Intellectual Migration. Editor in Chief Part I: Rudolf Carnap Audrey Yap, University of Victoria Sander Verhaegh Editorial Board Annalisa Coliva, UC Irvine In the years before the Second World War, Rudolf Carnap and Henry Jackman, York University Hans Reichenbach emigrated to the United States, escaping the Frederique Janssen-Lauret, University of Manchester quickly deteriorating political situation on the continent. Once Kevin C. Klement, University of Massachusetts in the U. S., the two significantly changed the American philo- Consuelo Preti, The College of New Jersey sophical climate. This two-part paper reconstructs Carnap’s and Marcus Rossberg, University of Connecticut Reichenbach’s surprisingly numerous interactions with Ameri- Anthony Skelton, Western University can academics in the decades before their move in order to explain Mark Textor, King’s College London the impact of their arrival in the late 1930s. Building on archival Richard Zach, University of Calgary material of several key players and institutions, I take some first steps toward answering the question why logical empiricism be- Editors for Special Issues came so successful in the United States after the War. This first Sandra Lapointe, McMaster University part reconstructs Carnap’s development between 1923, when he Alexander Klein, McMaster University first visited New York, and 1936, when he was offered a position Review Editors at the University of Chicago. I describe Carnap’s first substantive Sean Morris, Metropolitan State University of Denver contacts with American philosophers as well as the events lead- Sanford Shieh, Wesleyan University ing up to his decision to emigrate.
    [Show full text]
  • Building a New Thursday Circle Carnap and Frank in Prague
    Building a New Thursday Circle Carnap and Frank in Prague Adam Tamas Tuboly Institute of Philosophy, Hungarian Academy of Sciences; University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary [email protected] 1 Building a New Thursday Circle Carnap and Frank in Prague1 1. Introduction When Carnap wrote a short intellectual autobiography for Marcel Boll in March 1933, he mentioned two things about Prague: (1) that he became a professor at the German University in 1931, and (2) that he worked on his Logische Syntax der Sprache until 1933.2 These things are well known. Carnap spent, however, five long years in Prague, just like he did before in Vienna: so, one might ask, whether (1) and (2) indeed sufficiently characterize his Prague- period. Philipp Frank (1949, 45), who was there for almost twenty years when Carnap arrived, wrote that “[f]rom 1931 on we [i.e. Frank and Carnap] had in this way a new center of ‘scientific world conception’ at the University of Prague.” This seems to be much more than what Carnap claimed. Actually Carnap might have had great expectations regarding Prague: the First Conference on the Epistemology of the Exact Sciences, where the Vienna Circle made public its manifesto, was organized by Frank there in 1929; five years later in 1934 the Preliminary Conference of the International Congresses for the Unity of Science was hosted again in Prague. As Jan Sebestik (1994, 205) claimed, “Prague has always been one of the important European centres of learning and of science, and it has often been the forerunner of vast currents or movements, both intellectual and political.” The city also had a long tradition of scientifically oriented philosophical thinking: through Bernard Bolzano, members of the Brentano-School (such as Anton Marty, Tomáš G.
    [Show full text]
  • Christian Damböck Editor In Uences on the Aufbau Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook
    Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook Christian Damböck Editor In uences on the Aufbau Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook Institut ‘Wiener Kreis’ Society for the Advancement of the Scientifi c World Conception Volume 18 Series Editor Friedrich Stadler , Univ. of Vienna & Inst. Vienna Circle , Wien , Austria Advisory Editorial Board Jacques Bouveresse, Collège de France, Paris, France Martin Carrier, University of Bielefeld, Germany Nancy Cartwright, London School of Economics, UK Richard Creath, Arizona State University, USA Massimo Ferrari, University of Torino, Italy Michael Friedman, Stanford University, USA Maria Carla Galavotti, University of Bologna, Italy Peter Galison, Harvard University, USA Malachi Hacohen, Duke University, USA Rainer Hegselmann, University of Bayreuth, Germany Michael Heidelberger, University of Tübingen, Germany Don Howard, University of Notre Dame, USA Paul Hoyningen-Huene, University of Hanover, Germany Clemens Jabloner, Hans-Kelsen-Institut, Vienna, Austria Anne J. Kox, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Martin Kusch, University of Vienna, Austria James G. Lennox, University of Pittsburgh, USA Juha Manninen, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, Finland Thomas Mormann, University of Donostia/San Sebastián, Spain Edgar Morscher, University of Salzburg, Austria Kevin Mulligan, Université de Genève, Switzerland Elisabeth Nemeth, University of Vienna, Austria Julian Nida-Rümelin, University of Munich, Germany Ilkka Niiniluoto, University of Helsinki, Finland Otto Pfersmann, Université Paris I Panthéon – Sorbonne, France Miklós Rédei, London School of Economics, UK Alan Richardson, University of British Columbia, CDN Gerhard Schurz, University of Düsseldorf, Germany Peter Schuster, University of Vienna, Austria Karl Sigmund, University of Vienna, Austria Hans Sluga, University of California at Berkeley, USA Elliott Sober, University of Wisconsin, USA Antonia Soulez, Université de Paris 8, France Wolfgang Spohn, University of Konstanz, Germany Thomas E.
    [Show full text]
  • Sinn/Bedeutung and Intension/Extension in Gödel's Max
    Sinn/Bedeutung and Intension/Extension in Gödel’s Max Phil IX Gabriella Crocco To cite this version: Gabriella Crocco. Sinn/Bedeutung and Intension/Extension in Gödel’s Max Phil IX. Kurt Gödel: Philosopher-Scientist, Aix-en-Provence (Presses Universitaires de Provence), Presses Universitaires de Provence, pp.127-153., 2016. hal-01473413 HAL Id: hal-01473413 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01473413 Submitted on 23 Feb 2017 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Sinn/Bedeutung and Intension/Extension in Gödel’s Max Phil IX Gabriella Crocco Aix-Marseille University, CEPERC, UMR 7304 CNRS, France Introduction On 18th November 1942 P.A. Schilpp, the editor of the famous series The library of living Philosophers, asked Gödel to contribute to the volume in honour of Bertrand Russell. The volume was planned for the fall or early winter of 1943, and Schilpp suggested that Gödel’s essay should take the title “Russell’s mathematical logic”. 1 Gödel sent a first manuscript on the 17th of May 1943, and the revised version on the 28th of September. On the same day that he had been asked to contribute the essay, the 18th of November 1942, Gödel began a new philosophical notebook, the Max Phil IX.
    [Show full text]
  • Hans Reichenbach
    [Forthcoming in the Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy] Coming to America: Carnap, Reichenbach and the Great Intellectual Migration Part II: Hans Reichenbach Sander Verhaegh Tilburg University Ich habe das Gefühl, dass gerade Amerika mit seinem Sinn für das konkrete und technische mehr Verständnis haben müsste für meine naturwissenschaftliche Philosophie als Europa, wo noch immer die mystisch-metaphysischen Spekulationen als die wahre Philosophie angesehen werden. ⎯ Reichenbach to Sidney Hook, January 31, 1935 II.1. Introduction In the late-1930s, Rudolf Carnap and Hans Reichenbach, arguably the two most prominent scientific philosophers of their time, emigrated to the United States, escaping the increasingly perilous situation on the continent. Once in the U.S., the two significantly changed the American philosophical landscape. In this two-part paper, I reconstruct Carnap’s and Reichenbach’s surprisingly numerous interactions with American scholars throughout the 1920s and 1930s in order to better explain the transformation of analytic philosophy in the years before and after the Second World War. In the first part of this paper, I reconstructed Carnap’s contacts with American philosophers throughout the 1920s and 1930s. In this second part, I focus on Reichenbach’s interactions with the American philosophical community before he moved to the United States. I argue that some of Reichenbach’s work from the mid-1930s⎯ in particular Experience and Prediction (1938)⎯ can be better understood if we take into account the context in which it was written. This paper is structured as follows. After an overview of Reichenbach’s ignorance about Anglophone philosophy in the first stages of his academic career (§II.2), I reconstruct his ‘American turn’ in the early 1930s, focusing especially on the reception of his philosophy by a group of New York philosophers (§II.3).
    [Show full text]
  • Reply to Critics of Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century
    Scott Soames Reply to Critics of Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century: Christopher Pincock, Thomas Hurka, Michael Kremer, and Paul Horwich Pacific Division Meetings of the American Philosophical Association Portland, Oregon March 25, 2006 Volume 1 Reply to Christopher Pincock and Thomas Hurka Pincock Chris Pincock is offended that I presumed to write a historical overview of analytic philosophy without filling it with scholarly detail provided by specialists. Instead of relying on them, I simply read the works of leading philosophers and tried to figure out for myself what they were up to. Didn’t I know that this is impossible? I myself point out in the Epilogue that the history of philosophy is now a specialized discipline. How, Pincock wonders, could I have failed to recognize the implications of this lesson for my own project? Don’t try this at home! Read the original works, if you must, but don’t dare say anything about the views you find – let alone evaluate them by contemporary standards -- unless you first vet your remarks with those in the archives. History isn’t easy, you know! On the contrary, Pincock tells us, “the overriding lesson of work in the history of analytic philosophy is that history is hard.” Conveying that lesson should, he tells us, be the main goal of any historical introduction to the subject. “Above all,” he says, “I would hope that the reader would finish reading such a book with an appreciation of the difficulties inherent in the study of the history of philosophy.” This, I submit, is self-serving nonsense.
    [Show full text]
  • Rudolf Carnap
    Coming to America: Carnap, Reichenbach and the Great Intellectual Migration Part I: Rudolf Carnap Sander Verhaegh Tilburg University Von den Vereinigten Staaten … habe ich … den Eindruck gewonnen, dass es in geistiger Beziehung eine fruchtbarere Zukunft verspricht, als man bei uns meist glaubt, und daher auch kein undankbarer Boden sein würde. Das Volk … ist freilich oft unreif aber auch unbelastet, und scheint nach würdigen Aufgaben auszuschauen, die seine unverbrauchte Kraft anlocken. ⎯ Rudolf Carnap to Heinrich Scholz, August 13, 1923 I.1. Introduction In the late 1930s, a few years before the start of the Second World War, a small number of European philosophers of science emigrated to the United States, escaping the increasingly perilous situation on the continent. Among the first expatriates were Rudolf Carnap and Hans Reichenbach, the joint editors of Erkenntnis and arguably the most influential scientific philosophers of their time. Reichenbach came to the United States via Istanbul, where he had spent a few years after the Nazi government had dismissed him from his job in Berlin. Carnap abandoned his post at the German University in Prague, where he had grown increasingly concerned about the rapid spread of fascist ideology among his students and colleagues (Carnap 1963, 34). Once in the United States, Carnap and I would like to thank Fons Dewulf, Christian Feldbacher-Escamilla, Benjamin Marschall, Adam Tamas Tuboly, the Pittsburgh Center for Philosophy of Science reading group, various anonymous referees, and audiences at the
    [Show full text]