Linguistic reflexivity and "pseudorationalism"

pp. 27-60

in: Danilo Zolo, Reflexive epistemology, Berlin, Springer, 1989

Abstract

The Vienna Circle's 1929 "manifesto" was dedicated to Schlick and involved, as we have noted, the participation of Carnap. Little more than a year later Neurath opened his philosophical attack on each of these two. Earlier than this, however, in 1928, he had published in the journal of the Austrian Social Democratic Party, "Der Kampf, a joint review of two works by Carnap: Der logische Aufbau der Welt and Scheinprobleme in der Philosophie.¹ There he portrayed Carnap as an exponent of Viennese "empirical rationalism" fighting a minority battle against theology and metaphysics (and especially Kantianism) in the university schoolrooms, a battle initiated by the adherents of French enlightenment and materialism and more recently taken further by such scientists as Mach, Avenarius, Poincaré, Russell, Reichenbach and Schlick.²