DOCSLIB.ORG

Article Appeared in a Journal Published by Elsevier

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Article Appeared in a Journal Published by Elsevier This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier’s archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Author's personal copy Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 40 (2009) 14–24 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Studies in History and Philosophy of Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/shpsa The Left Vienna Circle, Part 1. Carnap, Neurath, and the Left Vienna Circle thesis Sarah S. Richardson Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Bldg. 240, Room 108, Stanford, CA 94305-2022, USA article info abstract Article history: Recent scholarship resuscitates the history and philosophy of a ‘left wing’ in the Vienna Circle, offering a Received 28 May 2007 counterhistory to the conventional image of analytic philosophy as politically conformist. This paper dis- Received in revised form 1 August 2008 putes the historical claim that early logical empiricists developed a political philosophy of science. Though some individuals in the Vienna Circle, including Rudolf Carnap and Otto Neurath, believed strongly in the importance of science to social progress, they did not construct a political philosophy of science. Both Carnap and Neurath were committed to forms of political neutralism that run strongly Keywords: against a political reading of their logical empiricism. In addition, Carnap and Neurath sharply differ Vienna Circle on precisely the subject of the place of politics in logical empiricism, throwing into question the construct Rudolf Carnap Otto Neurath of the ‘Left Vienna Circle’ as a coherent, sociohistorical, programmatic unit within the Vienna Circle. Logical empiricism Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. History of philosophy of science Political philosophy of science When citing this paper, please use the full journal title Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 1. Introduction operates as a new disciplinary history reflecting disciplinary anxi- eties within analytic philosophy of science about the proper aims, Research on the ‘left wing’ of the Vienna Circle has blossomed in methods, and objects of analysis of the subdiscipline. the last decade. Many celebrate the recovery of the Left Vienna Cir- cle’s spirited sense of its political relevance as an antidote to the 2. The Left Vienna Circle thesis neutralist self-conception of analytic philosophy of science. More recently, some scholars contend that the Left Vienna Circle offers The Vienna Circle discussions of the 1920s and 1930s are widely theoretical resources for developing a politically engaged analytic recognized as the source of the methods and approaches that dom- philosophy of science today. Represented in the work of Don How- inated North American analytic philosophy of science in the twen- ard, Alan Richardson, George Reisch, Ron Giere, and Thomas Uebel, tieth century. The Vienna Circle originated in 1924 as a discussion this position regards the Left Vienna Circle as presenting, for its group around physicist–philosopher Moritz Schlick. A number of time, a political philosophy of science with implications for con- notable scientists and philosophers participated in its discussions, temporary debates. including Hans Hahn, Rudolf Carnap, Herbert Feigl, Kurt Gödel, This paper is Part 1 of a two-part examination of Left Vienna Felix Kaufman, Edgar Zilsel, and Friedrich Waismann. Karl Popper, Circle (LVC) historiography. I analyze the claim that a group within Ludwig Wittgenstein, Carl Hempel, W. V. O. Quine, and Albert the Vienna Circle developed a critical and politically engaged ver- Einstein were among the well known visitors to the Circle. Several sion of logical empiricism. I argue that while some members of important monograph series grew out of the Vienna Circle, as well the Vienna Circle saw their work, and science, as politically impor- as the journal Erkenntnis. Its members dispersed by the mid-1930s, tant, they did not develop a ‘political philosophy of science’. In Part following Hitler’s rise to power, joining a large exodus of German- 2, I turn to the contemporary context of LVC historiography. Why speaking intellectuals to American and British universities. They are political histories of the Vienna Circle being generated and brought logical empiricism with them and many former members warmly received at this time? I argue that LVC historiography of the Vienna Circle became key figures in the postwar develop- E-mail address: [email protected] 0039-3681/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2008.12.002 Author's personal copy S.S. Richardson / Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 40 (2009) 14–24 15 ment of the subdiscipline of analytic philosophy of science in the cism. Describing LVC logical empiricism as ‘critical and politically English-speaking academy. engaged’ and as a ‘political philosophy of science’, Uebel implies Recent scholarship resuscitates the history and philosophy of a that Carnap, Neurath, and others share the theoretical interests, ‘left wing’ in the Vienna Circle, offering a counterhistory to the con- tools, and questions of present-day social epistemologists, feminist ventional image of analytic philosophy as politically conformist. philosophers of science, and others interested in the possibilities of Thomas Uebel’s ‘Political philosophy of science: The Left Vienna a political or politically engaged philosophy of science. Indeed, he Circle’ (2005) is a representative exposition of the Left Vienna Cir- writes that his interest in the LVC is to ‘resurrect it to see how rel- cle thesis. Uebel argues that a unit within the Vienna Circle, com- evant it may be to our present concerns’ (ibid., p. 755). prised of Otto Neurath, Rudolf Carnap, Hans Hahn, and Phillip While Uebel demonstrates that LVC members were, in their Frank, developed a distinctive version of logical empiricism that time and in some degree, ‘politically engaged’, his case for an represents an early ‘political philosophy of science’. Uebel con- LVC ‘political philosophy of science’ relies on a creative retrospec- tends that ‘there once existed another form of logical empiricism tive reconstruction of such a philosophy in light of apparent reso- that was critical and politically engaged’ and that ‘this ‘‘other” log- nances with contemporary projects in political philosophy of ical empiricism was obliterated’ (ibid., p. 755) in later historical science. Uebel focuses primarily on the conviction of some mem- narratives of analytic philosophy. bers of the Vienna Circle that philosophy of science has political According to Uebel, LVC logical empiricism differed from the implications and is part of a larger progressive project. Uebel neutralist logical empiricism later popularized in North America shows that LVC members were, on a continuum, comparatively in two principal ways. First, it admitted that philosophy has a less hostile toward considerations of values and politics in philos- larger ‘superstructural’ (ibid., p. 760) role in society. LVC members ophy of science than the ‘politically conformist’ form of logical believed that by providing conceptual tools to facilitate the pro- empiricism that later took root in North America. But this finding gress of science, philosophy may participate in the advancement stops short of demonstrating that the LVC’s logical empiricism in- of emancipatory politics. Second, the LVC allowed that the space vited, encouraged, or provided tools for the consideration of the so- of theory underdetermination leaves room for pragmatic consider- cial and political dimensions of science. ations in the choice of logical languages or scientific models (ibid.). In theory, Uebel argues, this would permit that political concerns 3. Reading between the lines may legitimately influence the practice of science itself. Uebel claims that these views, taken together, indicate that the LVC held ‘Red Vienna’, a term describing the city during its political con- to a substantively different interpretation of the doctrine of ethical trol by the Democratic Socialist Party (SDAP) in the 1920s, forms non-cognitivism than the ‘politically conformist’ one that is famil- the immediate political context of the Vienna Circle. Following iar in North American philosophy of science. World War I, Austria was newly constituted as an independent na- The doctrine of ethical non-cognitivism holds values (political, tion and Vienna was in shambles. The need for reconstruction moral, and otherwise) to be ‘psychological’ and ‘emotive’, and hence prompted an openness to new ideas and grand social visions. Led non-cognitive or meaningless within a scientific idiom. In North by Otto Bauer and academic intellectuals Max Adler, Friedrich Ad- America this doctrine would become an entrenched division be- ler, Karl Renner and Rudolf Hilferdig, the SDAP embraced a techn- tween facts and values, the context of justification and the context osocialist approach to social change that came to be known as
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Beaneyanalyticphil Historyphil.Pdf
    King’s Research Portal DOI: 10.1007/978-1-137-30487-2 Document Version Peer reviewed version Link to publication record in King's Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): Beaney, M. (2013). Analytic Philosophy and History of Philosophy: The Development of the Idea of Rational Reconstruction . In E. Reck (Ed.), The Historical Turn in Analytic Philosophy (1 ed., pp. 231–260). (History of Analytic Philosophy). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-30487-2 Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on King's Research Portal is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Post-Print version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognize and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. •Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research. •You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain •You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the Research Portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
    [Show full text]
  • Theory and Reality
    an introduction to the philosophy of science ........................................................... SCIENCE AND ITS CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS A SERIES EDITED BY DAVID L. HULL THEORY AND REALITY ........................................................... Peter Godfrey-Smith is associate professor of philosophy and of his­ tory and philosophy of science at Stanford University. He is the author PETER GODFREY-SMITH of Complexity and the Function ofMind in Nature. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 2003 by The University of Chicago All rights reserved. Published 2003 Printed in the United States of America 12 II 100908 45 ISBN: 0-226-30062-5 (cloth) ISBN: 0-226-30063-3 (paper) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Godfrey-Smith, Peter. Theory and reality: an introduction to the philosophy of science I Peter Godfrey-Smith. p. cm. - (Science and its conceptual foundations) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-226-30062-5 (alk. paper) - ISBN 0-226-30063-3 (pbk. : alk. The University of Chicago Press / Chicago and London paper) I. Science-Philosophy. I. Title. II. Series. QI75 .G596 2003 501-dc2I 2002155305 @ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Perma­ nence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. 56 Chapter Three Later (especially in chapter 14) I will return to these problems. But in the next chapter we will look at a philosophy that gets a good part of its motivation from the frustrations discussed in this chapter. Further Reading 4...................................................................................... Once again, Hempel's Aspects ofScientific Explanation (1965) is a key source, con­ Popper: Conjecture and Refutation taining a long (and exhausting) chapter on confirmation.
    [Show full text]
  • Positivism and the 'New Archaeology'
    2 Positivism and the 'new archaeology' 'Recipes for the Good Society used to run, in caricature, something like this - (1) Take about 2,000 hom. sap., dissect each into essence and accidents and discard the accidents. (2) Place essences in a large casserole, add socialising syrup and stew until conflict disappears. (3) Serve with a pinch of salt.' (Hollis 1977, p. 1) 'The wish to establish a natural science of society . probably remains, in the English speaking world at least, the dominant standpoint today . But those who still wait for a Newton are not only waiting for a train that won't arrive, they're in the wrong station altogether.' (Giddens 1976, p. 13) Introduction How should archaeologists come to have knowledge of the past? What does this knowl- edge involve? What constitutes an explanation of what archaeologists find? This chapter considers the answer to these questions accepted by the 'new' archaeology; it considers epistemological issues raised by a study of the past in the archaeological literature post- dating 1960. New archaeology has embraced explicitly and implicitly a positivist model of how to explain the past and we examine the treatment of the social world as an exten- sion of the natural, the reduction of practice lo behaviour, the separation of'reality', the facts, from concepts and theories. We criticize testing, validation and the refutation of theory as a way of connecting theory and the facts, emphasizing all observation as theory-laden. The new archaeology polemically opposed itself to traditional 'normative' archaeology as a social science and we begin the chapter with a consideration of this change and why it took place.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae
    BAS C. VAN FRAASSEN Curriculum Vitae Last updated 3/6/2019 I. Personal and Academic History .................................................................................................................... 1 List of Degrees Earned ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Title of Ph.D. Thesis ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 Positions held ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Invited lectures and lecture series ........................................................................................................................................ 1 List of Honors, Prizes ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Research Grants .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Non-Academic Publications ................................................................................................................................................ 5 II. Professional Activities .................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Meta-Metaphysics on Metaphysical Equivalence, Primitiveness, and Theory Choice
    J. Benovsky Meta-metaphysics On Metaphysical Equivalence, Primitiveness, and Theory Choice Series: Synthese Library, Vol. 374 ▶ Contains original research in analytic metaphysics and meta- metaphysics ▶ Offers a detailed and innovative discussion of metaphysical equivalence ▶ Explores the role of aesthetic properties of metaphysical theories from an original angle Metaphysical theories are beautiful. At the end of this book, Jiri Benovsky defends the view that metaphysical theories possess aesthetic properties and that these play a crucial role when it comes to theory evaluation and theory choice. Before we get there, the philosophical path the author proposes to follow starts with three discussions 1st ed. 2016, XI, 135 p. 20 illus. of metaphysical equivalence. Benovsky argues that there are cases of metaphysical equivalence, cases of partial metaphysical equivalence, as well as interesting cases of theories that are not equivalent. Thus, claims of metaphysical equivalence can only be Printed book raised locally. The slogan is: the best way to do meta-metaphysics is to do first-level Hardcover metaphysics.To do this work, Benovsky focuses on the nature of primitives and on the ISBN 978-3-319-25332-9 role they play in each of the theories involved. He emphasizes the utmost importance of primitives in the construction of metaphysical theories and in the subsequent evaluation ▶ 89,99 € | £79.99 of them. He then raises the simple but complicated question: how to make a choice ▶ *96,29 € (D) | 98,99 € (A) | CHF 106.50 between competing metaphysical theories? If two theories are equivalent, then perhaps we do not need to make a choice. But what about all the other cases of non-equivalent "equally good" theories? Benovsky uses some of the theories discussed in the first part of the book as examples and examines some traditional meta-theoretical criteria for theory choice (various kinds of simplicity, compatibility with physics, compatibility with intuitions, explanatory power, internal consistency,...) only to show that they do not allow us to make a choice.
    [Show full text]
  • Rational Reconstruction and the Construction of an Interlocutor
    Rational Reconstruction and the Construction of an Interlocutor The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Prescott-Couch, Alexander. 2015. Rational Reconstruction and the Construction of an Interlocutor. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:23845505 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA RATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN INTERLOCUTOR A dissertation presented by Alexander Prescott-Couch to The Harvard Department of Philosophy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Philosophy Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts September 2015 ©2015 Alexander Prescott-Couch All rights reserved. DISSERTATION ADVISOR: NED HALL ALEXANDER PRESCOTT-COUCH RATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN INTERLOCUTOR Abstract There has been much recent work in philosophy of science on idealization – the way inaccurate representations can be used to understand a target system. My dissertation concerns a particular sort of idealization that is familiar but often overlooked: rational reconstruction. Rational reconstructions are “cleaned-up” – more coherent and accurate – versions of an individual’s or a group’s attitudes. They are the kind of idealized model that facilitates a crucial aim of the interpretive sciences, the understanding of another’s point of view. I provide an account of rational reconstruction and argue that such an account can help us make sense of many intellectual projects in the humanities and the interpretive social sciences.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophical Analysis on the Nature and Forms of Information—From the Perspective of Marxist Philosophy †
    Proceedings Philosophical Analysis on the Nature and Forms of Information—From the Perspective of Marxist Philosophy † Mingfang Feng 1 and Liang Feng 2,* 1 School of Economics & Law, Shaanxi University of Technology, No.1, First Eastern Ring Road, Hanzhong 723001, China; [email protected] 2 School of Marxism Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No.28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an 710049, China * Correspondence: [email protected] † Presented at the IS4SI 2017 Summit DIGITALISATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY, Gothenburg, Sweden, 12–16 June 2017. Published: 8 June 2017 Abstract: The aim of this research essay attempt to reveal the nature of information form the perspective of Marxist Philosophy. The nature of Information is the first question that philosophy of information science and technology research must be answered, thus the problem is still debated. According to Marxist dialectical materialism method to the essence of information has made the analysis and argumentation, points out the essence of information between what is and its internal contact things, and this contact information is presented. Due to the connection between the protean and endless things, thus produce the endless, full of beautiful things in eyes, each are not identical information. To grasp the nature of information, must pay attention to and the specific form of information and information processing, the reorganization, transmission, storage, use and so on. Keywords: information; nature; connection; philosophy of information 1. Introduction The development of information science and technology has spar ked the nature of information exploration after World War II. The question that ‘What is the nature of information?’ is always unable to avoid in information science and philosophical technology research.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tyranny of Method: a Pragmatic Defense of Philosophical Pluralism
    THE TYRANNY OF METHOD: A PRAGMATIC DEFENSE OF PHILOSOPHICAL PLURALISM Vincent M. Colapietro Abstract: The history of philosophy is in no small measure a series of attempts to institute a fail-safe method. In response to what they take to be the scandal of disagreement (disagreement itself being judged as scandalous), a number of historically influential philosophers (e.g., Descartes, Peirce, Husserl, and Carnap) have time and again tried to craft a method for guaranteeing agreement. In light of the failure of these attempts, this tendency might be seen as remotely analogous to what is called in psychoanalytic parlance a “repetition compulsion.” In any event, historical reflections on this repeated tendency promise to be illuminating. But there is a polemical purpose animating these historical reflections. The author tries, in light of these reflections, to render plausible the suggestion that this tendency amounts to a tyranny of method and, in turn, such tyranny results in an inevitable impoverishment of philosophical thought. THE TOPIC of my essay is best brought into focus by recalling a central figure in the history of Western philosophy. 1 This recollection is, however, far from methodologically innocent. My deliberate turn toward a pivotal moment in our intellectual history – in brief, my turn toward history – will provide the basis for my critique of what I am disposed to identify as the tyranny of method. This tyranny is not so much exercised by any particular method as by the repeated impulse to institute a philosophical method of allegedly revolutionary significance. Most often, this impulse is bound up with the hope that philosophy can transform itself into a science (an unquestionable form of certain knowledge) either by adopting the method of science itself (e.g., the efforts of C.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction Is the Relationship Between Philosophy and Empirical Science
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives Habermas’ method: Rational reconstruction Jørgen Pedersen Dissertation for the degree philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of Bergen 2011 Til Thale, Synne og Anne Scientific environment This four year PhD project has been funded by the Faculty of Humanities. It has been located at the Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities/ Senter for Vitenskapsteori (SVT) at the University of Bergen, which has provided the candidate with supervision and working facilities. Acknowledgments This PhD dissertation is the result of a collective effort where many of my friends and colleagues have contributed. I feel extremely privileged to have had so many supervisors who have given me excellent advice along the way. I want to thank my only formal supervisor, Cathrine Holst. Cathrine has the special gift of always finding the strong as well as the weak spots in a text. This gift, combined with her ability to suggest how to correct the weaknesses has been of great importance for my project. I also want to thank Cathrine for always being available for counselling, and for connecting me with many of my informal supervisors. I want to thank Anders Molander for suggesting the theme of rational reconstruction as a blind spot in the research literature on Habermas. This topic has offered me a great opportunity to explore the relationship between philosophical theory and empirical research, and thus enabled me to follow one of my research interests. Thank you also for good supervision along the way.
    [Show full text]
  • Plato's Symposium: the Ethics of Desire
    Plato’s Symposium: The Ethics of Desire FRISBEE C. C. SHEFFIELD 1 Contents Introduction 1 1. Ero¯s and the Good Life 8 2. Socrates’ Speech: The Nature of Ero¯s 40 3. Socrates’ Speech: The Aim of Ero¯s 75 4. Socrates’ Speech: The Activity of Ero¯s 112 5. Socrates’ Speech: Concern for Others? 154 6. ‘Nothing to do with Human AVairs?’: Alcibiades’ Response to Socrates 183 7. Shadow Lovers: The Symposiasts and Socrates 207 Conclusion 225 Appendix : Socratic Psychology or Tripartition in the Symposium? 227 References 240 Index 249 Introduction In the Symposium Plato invites us to imagine the following scene: A pair of lovers are locked in an embrace and Hephaestus stands over them with his mending tools asking: ‘What is it that you human beings really want from each other?’ The lovers are puzzled, and he asks them again: ‘Is this your heart’s desire, for the two of you to become parts of the same whole, and never to separate, day or night? If that is your desire, I’d like to weld you together and join you into something whole, so that the two of you are made into one. Look at your love and see if this is what you desire: wouldn’t this be all that you want?’ No one, apparently, would think that mere sex is the reason each lover takes such deep joy in being with the other. The soul of each lover apparently longs for something else, but cannot say what it is. The beloved holds out the promise of something beyond itself, but that something lovers are unable to name.1 Hephaestus’ question is a pressing one.
    [Show full text]
  • 9. the Rhetoric, Science, and Technology of 21St Century Collaboration
    9. The Rhetoric, Science, and Technology of 21st Century Collaboration Ann Hill Duin University of Minnesota Jason Tham Texas Tech University Isabel Pedersen Ontario Tech University Abstract: We contend that collaboration is an imperative disciplinary as- sumption in technical and professional communication (TPC). Theorists, researchers, and practitioners grapple with ever-changing modes and models for collaborative work in academia, industry, and with communities. Tech- nical and professional communicators today must be prepared to collaborate with engineers, subject matter experts, and programmers; they must be adept at using collaborative software and working with global virtual teams. The purpose of this chapter is to synthesize the rhetoric, science, and technology of collaboration to consolidate a guiding framework for understanding, teaching, and practicing TPC collaboration in the 21st century and beyond. This unified framework provides guidance from which to structure one’s own collaboration and the collaborative projects we assign throughout our curriculum. We discuss collaborative software and team communication platforms and share example projects for preparing students for collaborative and global workplaces. Keywords: collaboration, rhetoric, technology, platforms, global virtual teams Key Takeaways: Collaboration across local and global contexts is an imperative disciplinary assumption in technical and professional communication (TPC). TPC instructors must prepare students for the collaborative frameworks and tools that
    [Show full text]
  • Logical Empiricism / Positivism Some Empiricist Slogans
    4/13/16 Logical empiricism / positivism Some empiricist slogans o Hume’s 18th century book-burning passage Key elements of a logical positivist /empiricist conception of science o Comte’s mid-19th century rejection of n Motivations for post WW1 ‘scientific philosophy’ ‘speculation after first & final causes o viscerally opposed to speculation / mere metaphysics / idealism o Duhem’s late 19th/early 20th century slogan: o a normative demarcation project: to show why science ‘save the phenomena’ is and should be epistemically authoritative n Empiricist commitments o Hempel’s injunction against ‘detours n Logicism through the realm of unobservables’ Conflicts & Memories: The First World War Vienna Circle Maria Marchant o Debussy: Berceuse héroique, Élégie So - what was the motivation for this “revolutionary, written war-time Paris (1914), heralds the ominous bugle call of war uncompromising empricism”? (Godfrey Smith, Ch. 2) o Rachmaninov: Études-Tableaux Op. 39, No 8, 5 “some of the most impassioned, fervent work the composer wrote” Why the “massive intellectual housecleaning”? (Godfrey Smith) o Ireland: Rhapsody, London Nights, London Pieces a “turbulant, virtuosic work… Consider the context: World War I / the interwar period o Prokofiev: Visions Fugitives, Op. 22 written just before he fled as a fugitive himself to the US (1917); military aggression & sardonic irony o Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin each of six movements dedicated to a friend who died in the war x Key problem (1): logicism o Are there, in fact, “rules” governing inference
    [Show full text]