Report/documentaion – from "late enlightenment" to logical empiricism

the Berlin society of empirical/scientific philosophy and the ernst mach association in vienna

Günther Sandner

Christian Pape

pp. 209-224

in: Friedrich Stadler, Niels Weidtmann, Sami Pihlström (eds), Logical empiricism and pragmatism, Berlin, Springer, 2017

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged today that continental Logical Empiricism (LE) developed primarily in Vienna and in Berlin. Both capitals Berlin and Vienna gave birth to academic and intellectual groups that presented a challenging new program in philosophy of science. Despite the largely autonomous and independent developments of these particular groups there are, however, some remarkable parallels, relations and interrelations. They are not only related to the respective approaches in philosophy of science or the philosophical programs. There is also a considerable accordance due to the ideological and historical origins, the resulting programmatic foundations, the genesis and the organizational structures. Both groups of intellectuals developed on the basis of already existing organizations and ideological movements, which were, however, amazingly similar in both cities. They represented an intellectual field that included various associations mostly founded at the end of the nineteenth century. They followed what they called a "scientific worldview" ("wissenschaftliche Weltanschauung") or "scientific world-conception" ("wissenschaftliche Weltauffassung") – a term that did not reappear until later in the famous Vienna Circle Manifesto of 1929. That included a secular, laically anti-metaphysic program closely associated with the natural sciences (e.g. theory of evolution) which focused on dissemination of knowledge via popular education. It primarily encompassed groups such as the Monists, Freethinkers and followers of non-religious ethics. All these groups wanted to strengthen the role of science in society and public life. Thus, in contesting the claims of other ideological hegemonic forces, they followed necessarily a political approach as well.