Rudolf Carnap Papers, 1920-1968
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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 Conditions Governing Use Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright.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. -
Metaphysics Today and Tomorrow*
1 Metaphysics Today and Tomorrow* Raphaël Millière École normale supérieure, Paris – October 2011 Translated by Mark Ohm with the assistance of Leah Orth, Jon Cogburn, and Emily Beck Cogburn “By metaphysics, I do not mean those abstract considerations of certain imaginary properties, the principal use of which is to furnish the wherewithal for endless dispute to those who want to dispute. By this science I mean the general truths which can serve as principles for the particular sciences.” Malebranche Dialogues on Metaphysics and Religion 1. The interminable agony of metaphysics Throughout the twentieth century, numerous philosophers sounded the death knell of metaphysics. Ludwig Wittgenstein, Rudolf Carnap, Martin Heidegger, Gilbert Ryle, J. L. Austin, Jacques Derrida, Jürgen Habermas, Richard Rorty, and, henceforth, Hilary Putnam: a great many tutelary figures have extolled the rejection, the exceeding, the elimination, or the deconstruction of first philosophy. All these necrological chronicles do not have the same radiance, the same seriousness, nor the same motivations, but they all agree to dismiss the discipline, which in the past was considered “the queen of the sciences”, with a violence at times comparable to the prestige it commanded at the time of its impunity. Even today, certain philosophers hastily spread the tragic news with contempt for philosophical inquiry, as if its grave solemnity bestowed upon it some obviousness. Thus, Franco Volpi writes: ‘Grand metaphysics is dead!’ is the slogan which applies to the majority of contemporary philosophers, whether continentals or of analytic profession. They all treat metaphysics as a dead dog.1 In this way, the “path of modern thought” would declare itself vociferously “anti- metaphysical and finally post-metaphysical”. -
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. -
Carnap on Empirical Significance
Carnap on Empirical Significance Sebastian Lutz∗ Preprint: 2014–04–30 Abstract Carnap’s search for a criterion of empirical significance is usually con- sidered a failure. I argue that the results from two out of his three different approaches are at the very least problematic, but that one approach led to success. Carnap’s criterion of translatability into logical syntax is too vague to allow definite results. His criteria for terms—introducibility by reduction sentences and his criterion from “The Methodological Character of Theoretical Concepts”—are almost trivial and have no clear relation to the empirical significance of sentences. However, his criteria for sentences— translatability, verifiability, falsifiability, confirmability—are usable, and under assumption of the Carnap sentence, verifiability, falsifiability, and translatability become equivalent. The price for the Carnap sentence approach is that metaphysics cannot always be shown to be non-significant. Keywords: empirical significance; cognitive significance; meaningfulness; Carnap; logical empiricism; Ramsey sentence; Carnap sentence; verifiabil- ity; falsifiability; testability; translatability Contents 1 Introduction 2 2 Informal Translatability 3 3 Europe 6 3.1 Criteria for Sentences............................. 6 3.2 Criteria for Terms............................... 15 ∗Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. se- [email protected]. A previous version was presented in 2013 at the workshop Carnap on Logic at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, some aspects were presented in 2013 at the work- shop Formal Epistemology and the Legacy of Logical Empiricism at the University of Texas at Austin and in 2012 at the Groningen/Munich Summer School Formal Methods in Philosophy. I thank the audiences for helpful comments and discussions. -
1 Introduction: Frege's Life and Work
1 Introduction: Frege’s Life and Work Biography Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was the founder of modern math- ematical logic, which he created in his first book, Conceptual Nota- tion, a Formula Language of Pure Thought Modelled upon the Formula Language of Arithmetic (Begriffsschrift, eine der arithmetischen nachge- bildete Formalsprache des reinen Denkens (1879), translated in Frege 1972). This describes a system of symbolic logic which goes far beyond the two thousand year old Aristotelian logic on which, hitherto, there had been little decisive advance. Frege was also one of the main formative influences, together with Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein and G. E. Moore, on the analytical school of philosophy which now dominates the English-speaking philo- sophical world. Apart from his definitive contribution to logic, his writings on the philosophy of mathematics, philosophical logic and the theory of meaning are such that no philosopher working in any of these areas today could hope to make a contribution without a thorough familiarity with Frege’s philosophy. Yet in his lifetime the significance of Frege’s work was little acknowledged. Even his work on logic met with general incomprehension and his work in philosophy was mostly unread and unappreciated. He was, however, studied by Edmund Husserl, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Rudolf Carnap and via these great figures he has eventually achieved general recognition. Frege’s life was not a personally fulfilled one (for more detailed accounts of the following see Bynum’s introduction to Frege 1972 2 Introduction: Frege’s Life and Work and Beaney’s introduction to Frege 1997). -
Remedying Some Defects in the History of Analyticity John Michael Carpenter
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 Remedying Some Defects in the History of Analyticity John Michael Carpenter Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES REMEDYING SOME DEFECTS IN THE HISTORY OF ANALYTICITY By JOHN MICHAEL CARPENTER A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Philosophy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2012 Copyright © 2012 John Carpenter All Rights Reserved John Carpenter defended this dissertation on October 31, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Russell Dancy Professor Directing Dissertation Michael Kaschak University Representative Michael Bishop Committee Member J. Piers Rawling Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am delighted to have this opportunity to thank my committee members— Dr. Michael Bishop, Dr. Russell Dancy, Dr. Michael Kaschak, and Dr. J. Piers Rawling—not just for their support and attention directly related to this dissertation, but also for what I have learned from each throughout the years of taking their seminars and enjoying their company. Dr. Dancy, my supervisor, deserves special mention as one who was always willing to share his encyclopedic knowledge of philosophy, and who bore our philosophical disagreements with equanimity. I have benefitted from discussions with, and advice from Dr. Joshua Gert, John K. Harvey, Dr. -
Carnap's Logical Structure of the World
Philosophy Compass 4/6 (2009): 951–961, 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2009.00247.x Carnap’s Logical Structure of the World Christopher Pincock* Purdue University Abstract This article aims to give an overview of Carnap’s 1928 book Logical Structure of the World or Aufbau and the most influential interpretations of its significance. After giving an outline of the book in Section 2, I turn to the first sustained interpretations of the book offered by Goodman and Quine in Section 3. Section 4 explains how this empirical reductionist interpretation was largely displaced by its main competitor. This is the line of interpretation offered by Friedman and Richardson which focuses on issues of objectivity. In Section 5, I turn to two more recent interpretations that can be thought of as emphasizing Carnap’s concern with rational reconstruc- tion. Finally, the article concludes by noting some current work by Leitgeb that aims to develop and update some aspects of the Aufbau project for contemporary epistemology. 1. Introduction Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970) is a central figure in the development of analytic philosophy, with influences ranging from the foundations of logic and mathematics through the philoso- phy of science and the philosophy of language. His first book Der logische Aufbau der Welt was published in 1928, but translated into English as The Logical Structure of the World only in 1967. Despite this delay, it is fair to say that the Aufbau, as the book is typically called, is one of the most important books for the history of analytic philosophy. The exact nature of the Aufbau’s significance remains a subject of intense debate largely because different interpreters have drawn attention to different aspects of the work at the expense of other aspects. -
Rudolf Carnap and David Lewis on Metaphysics: a Volume 9, Number 1 Question of Historical Ancestry Editor in Chief Fraser Macbride Audrey Yap, University of Victoria
Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy Rudolf Carnap and David Lewis on Metaphysics: A Volume 9, Number 1 Question of Historical Ancestry Editor in Chief Fraser MacBride Audrey Yap, University of Victoria Editorial Board In an unpublished speech from 1991, David Lewis told his audi- Annalisa Coliva, UC Irvine ence that he counted ‘the metaphysician Carnap (not to be con- Henry Jackman, York University fused with the anti-metaphysician Carnap, who is better known)’ Frederique Janssen-Lauret, University of Manchester amongst his historical ancestors. Here I provide a novel inter- Kevin C. Klement, University of Massachusetts pretation of the Aufbau that allows us to make sense of Lewis’s Consuelo Preti, The College of New Jersey claim. Drawing upon Lewis’s correspondence, I argue it was the Marcus Rossberg, University of Connecticut Carnap of the Aufbau whom Lewis read as a metaphysician, be- Anthony Skelton, Western University cause Carnap’s appeal to the notion of founded relations in the Mark Textor, King’s College London Aufbau echoes Lewis’s own appeal to the metaphysics of natu- Richard Zach, University of Calgary ral properties. I further maintain that Lewis was right to read Carnap this way and that the notion of a founded relation has Editors for Special Issues a legitimate claim to be both logical and metaphysical. I also Sandra Lapointe, McMaster University argue that Carnap’s initial response to Goodman’s puzzle about Alexander Klein, McMaster University ‘grue’ relies upon a metaphysics of simple properties which also Review Editors prefigures Lewis’s own response to Goodman invoking natural Sean Morris, Metropolitan State University of Denver properties. -
Ontology, Analyticity and Meaning: the Quine-Carnap Dispute
March 2008 March 2008 Ontology, Analyticity and Meaning: The Quine-Carnap Dispute by Scott Soames School of Philosophy University of Southern California In the middle of the twentieth century a dispute erupted between the chief architect of Logical Empiricism, Rudolf Carnap, and Logical Empiricism’s chief reformer, Willard van Orman Quine -- who was attempting to save what he took to be its main insights by recasting them in a more acceptable form. Though both eschewed metaphysics of the traditional apriori sort, and both were intent on making the investigation of science the center of philosophy, they disagreed about how to do so. Part of the disagreement involved the nature of ontological disputes. The central documents in the debate are: (i) Quine’s 1948 article, “On What There Is,” which tells us how to discern ontological commitments, what such commitments amount to, and how to evaluate them,1 (ii) Carnap’s 1950 article “Empiricism, Semantics, and Ontology,” which -- with the help an ambitious analytic/synthetic distinction -- attempts to reconcile his promiscuous commitment to a rich ontology of abstract objects with his puritanical devotion to empiricism by distinguishing scientifically tractable ontological issues from the unintelligible “psuedo-questions” of traditional ontology,2 (iii) Quine’s 1951 article “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” – which attacks Carnap’s analytic /synthetic distinction , and offers a holistic reconstruction of Logical Empiricism.3 Although these documents make up the core of the debate, they don’t exhaust it. For example, in 1951, Quine responded briefly in “On Carnap’s Views of Ontology.”4 In “Meaning and 1 Quine, “On What There Is,” Review of Metaphysics 2 (1948),: 21-38; reprinted in Quine, From a Logical Point of View, rev. -
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. -
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), • . -
Humans and Nature: Finding Meaning Through Metaphysics Justin Stone [email protected]
Rollins College Rollins Scholarship Online Master of Liberal Studies Theses 2013 Humans and Nature: Finding Meaning through Metaphysics Justin Stone [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls Part of the Metaphysics Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Stone, Justin, "Humans and Nature: Finding Meaning through Metaphysics" (2013). Master of Liberal Studies Theses. 42. http://scholarship.rollins.edu/mls/42 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Rollins Scholarship Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Liberal Studies Theses by an authorized administrator of Rollins Scholarship Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Humans and Nature: Finding Meaning Through Metaphysics A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Liberal Studies by Justin S. Stone May, 2013 Mentor: Dr. Hoyt Edge Reader: Dr. Robert Vander Poppen Rollins College Hamilton Holt School Master of Liberal Studies Program Winter Park, Florida Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1 – Ancient Thought: Plato and Aristotle 7 Chapter 2 – Medieval Philosophy: From Augustine to Aquinas 22 Chapter 3 – The Scientific Revolution: Descartes and Bacon 34 Redefine Nature Chapter 4 – Spinoza: God in the Machine 48 Chapter 5 – Heidegger: Return of Metaphysics 56 Conclusion 67 Index of References 72 1 Introduction Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. Amid such a world, if anywhere, our ideals henceforward must find a home. That man is the product of causes which had no provision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collisions of atoms… - Russell Bertrand Before the 19th Century, individuals who studied the natural world were called natural philosophers.