Scholars Awards: The Schlick Zirkel

Clemson University, Clemson SC

Investigators

Abstract

General Audience Summary The proposed object of study is the Schlick Zirkel, a group of philosophically-oriented scientists in 1920s Vienna that eventually evolved into the Vienna Circle, which is of great importance and has received much attention in the history of the philosophy of science. The intellectual contribution is both a close study of the ideas, insights, and intellectual innovations of the Zirkel concerning the foundations of science and of theoretical reasoning, and a historical study of its members. The project will serve to clarify of how specialists, professional philosophers and scientific practitioners, develop an understanding of the scientific enterprise. It will also help to explain how distinct individuals, with different backgrounds and training, and belonging to distinct disciplines, arrive at their own conception of the scientific enterprise. This process, which ultimately shapes and forms the popular perception of science, involves careful examination, extended discussions, and heated debates before a consensus emerges Technical Summary The intrinsic merit of the proposed work derives from the significance of the Zirkel in the development of Twentieth Century philosophical thought and the fact that the Zirkel has received little critical attention in the literature. The Zirkel was the original group which evolved into the Vienna Circle, a major source of Logical Empiricism, which dominated philosophical thought about science throughout most of the Twentieth Century. The last two decades have seen a resurgence of scholarly interest in the Vienna Circle and in the early development of Logical Empiricism. During this period, the influence of Kantian thought on Logical Empiricism has been emphasized, while the contribution of the Zirkel has been largely neglected. The proposed project will remedy both the lack of scholarly interest in a leading influence on recent philosophy of science while correcting the mistaken impressions which have resulted from this neglect.