Friedrich Waismann - Causality and Logical Positivism

Description

Friedrich Waismann (1896–1959) was one of the most gifted students and collaborators of Moritz Schlick. Accepted as a discussion partner by Wittgenstein from 1927 on, he functioned as spokesman for the latter’s ideas in the Schlick Circle, until Wittgenstein’s contact with this most faithful interpreter was broken off in 1935 and not renewed when exile took Waismann to Cambridge. Nonetheless, at Oxford, where he went in 1939, and eventually became Reader in Philosophy of Mathematics (changing later to Philosophy of Science), Waismann made important and independent contributions to analytic philosophy and philosophy of science (for example in relation to probability, causality and linguistic analysis). The full extent of these only became evident later when the larger (unpublished) part of his writings could be studied. His first posthumous work The Principles of Linguistic Philosophy (1965, 2nd edn.1997; German 1976) and his earlier Einführung in das mathematische Denken (1936) have recently proved of fresh interest to the scientific community. This late flowering and new understanding of Waismann’s position is connected with the fact that he somewhat unfairly fell under the shadow of Wittgenstein, his mentor and predecessor. Central to this book about a life and work familiar to few is unpublished and unknown works on causality and probability. These are commented on in this volume, which will also include a publication of new or previously scattered material and an overview of Waismann’s life. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Waismann: The Wandering Scholar....Pages 9-16 Tributes to and Impressions of Friedrich Waismann....Pages 17-29 Waismann’s Lectures on Causality: An Introduction 1 ....Pages 31-51 The Decline and Fall of Causality....Pages 53-90 Causality....Pages 91-184 The Logical Force of Expressions 1 ....Pages 185-195 A Philosopher Looks at Kafka....Pages 197-206 Waismann Versus Ewing on Causality....Pages 207-224 Waismann as Spokesman for Wittgenstein....Pages 225-241 Waismann’s Testimony of Wittgenstein’s Fresh Starts in 1931–35....Pages 243-265 Otto Neurath’s ‘Encyclopedia of the World War’: A Contextualisation....Pages 267-295 One Hundred Years of Philosophy of Science: The View from Munich....Pages 297-309 John T. Blackmore: Two Recent Trilogies on Ernst Mach 1 ....Pages 311-321 Logical Syntax and the Application of Mathematics....Pages 323-335 Reviews....Pages 337-349 Obituary....Pages 351-357 Back Matter....Pages 359-369