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5841Pierre Duhem gilt ais einer der wichtigsten Reprüsentanten der franzosischen Wissenschaftsphilosophie um 1900. Seine Konzeption physikalischer Theorien wird üblicherweise ais moderne Umsetzung des antiken – proto-positivistischen – Programms der „Rettung der Phänomene‟ angesehen. Diese Sicht ist richtig, bedarf aber der Ergänzung, indem der diskursive Kontext der Duhemschen Position berücksichtigt wird. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird dargelegt, dass Duhems philosophischer Zeitgenosse Abel Rey eine…Read more
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1704Philosophie der modernen Physik - Philipp Frank und Abel ReyGrazer Philosophische Studien 80 (1): 131-149. 2010.The aim of this paper is to show that the French philosopher and historian of science Abel Rey played a more influential role in the formative phase of the Vienna Circle than hitherto supposed. On the whole, it will be argued that Rey's contribution had political impact. His interpretation of "modern physics" in 1907 in the face of the alleged "bankruptcy of science" should be appreciated as a masterpiece of applied enlightenment thought. As such, it was especially paradigmatic for Philipp Frank…Read more
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989Realistic Claims in Logical EmpiricismIn Uskali Mäki, Stéphanie Ruphy, Gerhard Schurz & Ioannis Votsis (eds.), Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science: EPSA13 Helsinki, Springer. forthcoming.Logical empiricism is commonly seen as a counter-position to scientific realism. In the present paper it is shown that there indeed existed a realist faction within the logical empiricist movement. In particular, I shall point out that at least four types of realistic arguments can be distinguished within this faction: Reichenbach’s ‘probabilistic argument,’ Feigl’s ‘pragmatic argument,’ Hempel’s ‘indispensability argument,’ and Kaila’s ‘invariantist argument.’ All these variations of arguments …Read more
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770Critical Realism in Perspective - Remarks on a Neglected Current in Neo-Kantian EpistemologyIn T. Uebel (ed.), Philosophy of Science in a European Perspective, Springer. pp. 657-673. 2014.Critical realism is a frequently mentioned, but not very well-known, late nineteenth-/early twentieth-century philosophical tradition. Having its roots in Kantian epistemology, critical realism is best characterized as a revisionist approach toward the original Kantian doctrine. Its most outstanding thesis is the idea that Kantian things-in-themselves are knowable. This idea was—at least implicitly—suggested by thinkers such as Alois Riehl, Wilhelm Wundt, and Oswald Külpe. Interestingly enough, …Read more
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758Dogmenfreiheit als Prinzip? Neuere Literatur zum logischen EmpirismusZeitschrift für Philosophische Forschung 65 (1): 96-114. 2011.
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475David J. Chalmers: Constructing the World (review)Zeitschrift für Philosophische Forschung 68 (4): 648-652. 2014.
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441Ostwald, Weber und die 'energetischen Grundlagen' der KulturwissenschaftIn Gerhard Wagner & Claudius Härpfer (eds.), Max Webers vergessene Zeitgenossen. Studien zur Genese der Wissenschaftslehre., Harrassowitz Verlag.. 2015.Wilhelm Ostwald’s program of a physical energetics is the attempt at a comprehensive description of nature on the basis of the concept of energy. In his book Energetische Grundlagen der Kulturwissenschaft, first published in 1909, Ostwald applies this conception to the area of culture. His central assumption is that cultural phenomena should be described by the energetic notion of “efficiency relation” (Güteverhältnis). His systematic thesis is that science, when organized according to the Machi…Read more
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233Review Don Ross, James Ladyman, Harold Kincaid (eds.): Scientific Metaphysics (review)Zeitschrift für Philosophische Forschung 68 (3): 426-430. 2014.
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162Perception and Coincidence in Helmholtz’s Theory of MeasurementJournal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 6 (3). 2018.The present paper is concerned with Helmholtz’s theory of measurement. It will be argued that an adequate understanding of this theory depends on how Helmholtz’s application of the concepts of perception and coincidence is interpreted. In contrast both to conventionalist and Kantian readings of Helmholtz’s theory, a more realistic interpretation will be suggested.
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132Invariance, Structure, Measurement – Eino Kaila and the History of Logical EmpiricismTheoria 78 (4): 358-383. 2012.Eino Kaila's thought occupies a curious position within the logical empiricist movement. Along with Hans Reichenbach, Herbert Feigl, and the early Moritz Schlick, Kaila advocates a realist approach towards science and the project of a “scientific world conception”. This realist approach was chiefly directed at both Kantianism and Poincaréan conventionalism. The case in point was the theory of measurement. According to Kaila, the foundations of physical reality are characterized by the existence …Read more
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122Feigl’s ‘Scientific Realism’Philosophy of Science 78 (1): 165-183. 2011.This article considers the evolution of Feigl's attempt at establishing a stable form of scientific realism. I will argue that Feigl's work in that area should be appreciated for two reasons: it represents a telling case against the view of there being an unbridgeable ‘analytic-continental divide’ in the context of twentieth-century philosophy; it contradicts the idea that scientific realism is at odds with logical empiricism. It will be shown that Feigl developed his scientific realist position…Read more
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66Realism as a Problem of Language–From Carnap to Reichenbach and KailaIn R. Creath (ed.), Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook, Springer Verlag. pp. 37--56. 2012.Rudolf Carnap’s role in the debate over scientific realism is fairly unclear. In a certain sense, Carnap must be regarded as the one who rendered the whole issue irrelevant. However, it cannot be ignored that Carnap sometimes spoke of himself as an ‘empirical realist.’ So the question to be answered is: in what sense, if at all, did Carnap play a constructive role in the scientific realism debate. It is the aim of the present paper to tackle this question by investigating the relationship betwee…Read more
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61Russell and American RealismTopoi 43 (1): 127-133. 2024.American philosophical realism developed in two forms: “new” and “critical” realism. While the new realists sought to ‘emancipate’ ontology from epistemology and defended a direct theory of perception, the critical realists promoted a representationalist account of perception and thus argued for an epistemological dualism. Bertrand Russell’s early philosophical writings figured prominently in both of these American realist camps. However, while the new realists quite enthusiastically embraced th…Read more
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55Helmholtz's Theory of Space and its Significance for SchlickBritish Journal for the History of Philosophy 20 (1). 2012.Helmholtz's theory of space had significant impact on Schlick's early ?critical realist? point of view. However, it will be argued in this paper that Schlick's appropriation of Helmholtz's ideas eventually lead to a rather radical transformation of the original Helmholtzian position
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43Two Forms of American Critical Realism: Perception and Reality in Santayana/Strong and SellarsHopos: The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science 10 (1): 76-105. 2020.American critical realism emerged in two forms: an ‘essentialist’ version defended, with some significant divergences, by George Santayana and C. A. Strong, and an ‘empirical’ version primarily defended by Roy Wood Sellars. Both forms of American critical realism aimed at an epistemologically convincing ‘representationalist’ account of perception. However, they were divided over issues of ontology. While Santayana and Strong invoked the notion of essence in order to ontologically reinforce their…Read more
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43Zwei Formen des transzendentalen Revisionismus. ‚Wissenschaftliche Philosophie‘ beim frühen Ernst Cassirer und beim frühen Moritz SchlickKant Studien 102 (4): 455-476. 2011.In their early epistemological writings, Cassirer and Schlick represent two different strategies in their revisionist approaches toward the original Kantian doctrine. While Cassirer attempts a revision in the sense of ‚critical idealism‘, Schlick attempts a revision in the sense of ‚critical realism‘. It will be shown that this contrast in programmatic outlook leads to significant divergences, especially in the respective theories of space and the correlated interpretations of Einstein's general…Read more
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41Matthias Koßler (Hg.): Musik als Wille und Welt. Schopenhauers Philosophie der MusikPhilosophischer Literaturanzeiger 64 (4): 349-355. 2011.
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39Fake News, Pandemien, Verschwörungstheorien. Neuere philosophische Literatur zu Fragen unserer ZeitZeitschrift für Philosophische Forschung 75 (4): 599-613. 2021.Wir leben in unübersichtlichen Zeiten: Sogenannte Fake News verzerren, verdrehen und leugnen Informationen mit dem Ziel umfassender Verunsicherung; Verschwörungstheoretiker unterstellen dunkle Mächte und rufen teils sehr explizit zum Aufstand auf; Covid-19 treibt uns gnadenlos vor sich her, und niemand weiß so recht, wohin das alles noch führt. Was sagen Philosophinnen und Philosophen zu all dem? Es ist dies die Frage, der im Rahmen dieses Literaturberichtes nachgegangen werden soll. Ein Anspruc…Read more
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31Ernest Nagel: Philosophy of Science and the Fight for Clarity (edited book)Springer. 2021.This volume is dedicated to the life and work of Ernest Nagel counted among the influential twentieth-century philosophers of science. Forgotten by the history of philosophy of science community in recent years, this volume introduces Nagel’s philosophy to a new generation of readers and highlights the merits and originality of his works. Best known in the history of philosophy as a major American representative of logical empiricism with some pragmatist and naturalist leanings, Nagel’s interest…Read more
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31Helmholtz, Kaila, and the Representational Theory of MeasurementHopos: The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science 8 (2): 409-431. 2018.The problem of measurement can be reformulated as the problem of measurability: What are the conditions under which measurement becomes possible at all? And what is the ontological status of concrete measurement outcomes? It will be shown in the course of this article that what Joel Michell deemed the ‘representational theory’ of measurement provides an adequate framework for answering these questions. However, contrary to Michell, I will point out that Hermann von Helmholtz should be seen as an…Read more
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30Friedrich Stadler (Hg.): Vertreibung, Transformation und Rückkehr der Wissenschaftstheorie. Am Beispiel von Rudolf Carnap und Wolfgang Stegmüller (review)Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 43 (1): 203-206. 2012.
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28Is Logical Empiricism Compatible with Scientific Realism?In Maria Carla Galavotti, Elisabeth Nemeth & Friedrich Stadler (eds.), Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook, Springer. pp. 249-262. 2014.Scientific realism is the view that the theoretical entities of science exist. Atoms, forces, electromagnetic fields, and so on, are not merely instruments for organizing observational data but are real and causally effective. This view seems to be hardly compatible with the logical empiricist agenda: As common wisdom has it, logical empiricism is mainly characterized by a strong verification criterion of meaning, i.e., by the project of defining the meaning of theoretical terms by virtue of the…Read more
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27Treffpunkt Struktur – Cassirer, Schlick und CarnapArchiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 95 (2): 206-233. 2013.Structure is the connecting link between the early epistemologies of Cassirer, Schlick, and Carnap. However, there are important programmatic differences among Cassirer’s, Schlick’s, and Carnap’s articulations of the structuralistic point of view. Whereas Cassirer hoped to argue in favor of an ‚idealist‘ and Schlick in favor of a ‚realist‘ conception of structure, Carnap thought it possible to remain neutral in this respect. I will argue that Carnap’s approach, though at first sight promising, w…Read more
Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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20th Century Philosophy |
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