Karl H Müller, Symbole, Statistik, Computer, Design

Johanna Hofbauer

pp. 263-265

in: Friedrich Stadler (ed), Scientific philosophy, Berlin, Springer, 1993

Abstract

Today, as the struggle between a literary and pictorial mode of representation finally seems to be settled down, one is surprised about the validity of a prognosis ventured already half a century ago, designating our time as "the Age of the Eye". It was Otto Neurath who created this eloquent metaphor and his work testifies how incisively he himself was shaping that era — and still is. Neurath's efforts extended the entire philosophical project of the Vienna Circle as he pursued a uniquely "down-to-earth"-practical purpose with the issue of "Einheitssprache". Dealing with problems like how to organize public space by universally intelligible symbols or how to present scientific data in a way that also non-experts can understand the message, he made aware of a virulent societal demand for pictorial communication which he seeked to satisfy by providing for the necessary tools.

Cited authors

Neurath Otto