Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick
Moritz Schlick around 1930
Born	Friedrich Albert Moritz Schlick April 14, 1882 Berlin,German Empire
Died	June 22, 1936(1936-06-22)(aged 54) Vienna,Austria
Alma mater	University of Heidelberg University of Lausanne University of Berlin
Era	20th-century philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Analytic philosophy,Logical Positivism,Vienna Circle
Main interests	Logic,Philosophy of Science,Philosophy of Mathematics,Ethics
Notable ideas	General theory of knowledge Beobachtungssatz(observational statement)

Friedrich Albert Moritz Schlick(German:[ʃlɪk];April 14, 1882 – June 22, 1936) was aGermanphilosopher, physicist, and the founding father oflogical positivismand theVienna Circle.

Early life and works

Schlick was born inBerlinto a wealthy family, his father was Ernst Albert Schlick and his mother was Agnes Arndt. He studiedphysicsat theUniversity of Heidelberg,theUniversity of Lausanne,and, ultimately, theUniversity of BerlinunderMax Planck.In 1904, he completed his dissertation essay, "Über die Reflexion des Lichts in einer inhomogenen Schicht" ( "On the Reflection of Light in a Non-Homogeneous Medium" ). After a year as Privatdozent at Göttingen, he turned to the study of Philosophy in Zurich. In 1907, he married Blanche HardyIn 1908, he publishedLebensweisheit( "The Wisdom of Life" ), a slim volume abouteudaemonism,the theory that happiness is the highest ethical pursuit. His habilitation essay, "Das Wesen der Wahrheit nach der modernen Logik" ( "The Nature of Truth According to ModernLogic"), was published in 1910. Several essays aboutaestheticsfollowed, whereupon Schlick turned his attention to problems ofepistemology,thephilosophy of science,and more general questions aboutscience.In this last category, Schlick distinguished himself by publishing a paper in 1915 aboutEinstein'sspecial theory of relativity,a topic only ten years old. He also publishedRaum und Zeit in der gegenwärtigen Physik( "Space and Time in Contemporary Physics" ), which extended his earlier results by applying Poincaré's geometric conventionalism to explain Einstein's adoption of a non-Euclidean geometry in thegeneral theory of relativity.

The Vienna Circle and Wittgenstein

After early appointments at Rostock and Kiel, in 1922 Schlick assumed the chair of Naturphilosophie at theUniversity of Viennawhich had previously been held byLudwig BoltzmannandErnst Mach.Schlick displayed an unusual success in organizing talented individuals in the philosophical and scientific spheres. When Schlick arrived in Vienna, he was invited to lead a group of scientists and philosophers who met regularly (on Thursday evenings in the Chemistry Building) to discuss philosophical topics in the sciences. Early members included the mathematicianHans Hahnand, within a few years, they were joined byRudolf Carnap,Herbert Feigl,Kurt Gödel,Otto Neurath,Friedrich Waismannand others. They initially called themselves theErnst MachAssociation, but forever after they have been known as theVienna Circle.In the years 1925-1926, the Thursday night group discussed recent work in the foundations of mathematics byGottlob Frege,Bertrand Russell,andLudwig Wittgenstein.Wittgenstein's book,Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus,was a work that advanced, among other things, a logical theory ofsymbolismand a "picture" or "model" theory of language. Schlick and his group were impressed by the work, devoting considerable time to its study and, even when it was no longer the principal focus of their discussion, it was mentioned in discussion. Eventually Wittgenstein agreed to meet with Schlick and other Circle members to discuss theTractatusand other ideas but he later found it necessary to restrict the visitors to sympathetic interlocutors. Through Schlick's influence, Wittgenstein was encouraged to consider a return to philosophy after some ten years away from the field. Schlick and Waismann's discussions with Wittgenstein continued until the latter felt that germinal ideas had been used without permission in an essay by Carnap, a charge of dubious merit. But he continued discussions in letters to Schlick after he no longer met with other Circle members.

General Theory of Knowledgeand later works

Schlick had worked on hisAllgemeine Erkenntnislehre(General Theory of Knowledge) between 1918 and 1925, and, though later developments in his philosophy were to make various contentions of his epistemology untenable, theGeneral Theoryis perhaps his greatest work in its acute reasoning against synthetica prioriknowledge. This critique of synthetica prioriknowledge argues that the only truths which are self-evident to reason are statements which are true as a matter of definition, such as the statements of formal logic and mathematics. The truth of all other statements must be evaluated with reference toempirical evidence.If a statement is proposed which is not a matter of definition, and not capable of being confirmed or falsified by evidence, that statement is "metaphysical", which is synonymous with "meaningless", or "nonsense". This is the principle upon which members of the Vienna Circle were most clearly in agreement — with each other, as well as with Wittgenstein.

Problems of Ethics

Between 1926 and 1930, Schlick labored to finishFragen der Ethik(Problems of Ethics'), in which he surprised some of his fellow Circlists by includingethicsas a viable branch of philosophy. In his 1932-33 contribution toErkenntnis,"Positivism and Realism",Schlick offered one of the most illuminating definitions ofpositivismas every view "which denies the possibility of metaphysics" (Schlick [1932-1933], p. 260). Accordingly he defined metaphysics as the doctrine of “true being”, “thing in itself” or “transcendental being”, a doctrine which obviously "presupposes that a non-true, lesser or apparent being stands opposed to it" (Ibid). Therefore in this work he bases the positivism on a kind of epistemology which holds that the only true beings are givens or constituents of experience. Also during this time, the Vienna Circle publishedThe Scientific View of the World: The Vienna Circleas a homage to Schlick. Its strong anti-metaphysical stance crystallized the viewpoint of the group.

Comment on Wittgenstein'sTractatus

Carnap,in his bookLogical Syntax of Language,included a comment by Schlick on Wittgenstein 'sTractatus.

Schlick ( [Wende] p.8 ) interpretsWittgenstein's position as follows: philosophy "is that activity by which the meaning of propositions is established or discovered"; it is a question of "what the propositions actually mean. The content, soul, and spirit of science naturally consist in what is ultimately meant by its sentences; the philosophical activity of rendering significant is thus the Alpha and Omega of all scientific knowledge".

— Carnap, p.284,Logical Syntax of Language

Schlick's murder

With the rise of theNazisin Germany and theAustrofascismin Austria, many of the Vienna Circle's members left for America and the United Kingdom. Schlick, however, stayed on at the University of Vienna. When visited byHerbert Feiglin 1935, he expressed dismay at events in Germany. On June 22, 1936, Schlick was ascending the steps of the University for a class when he was confronted by a former student,Johann Nelböck,who killed Schlick with a pistol. The court declared Nelböck to be fullycompos mentis,he confessed to the act, was detained without any resistance, but was unrepentant. The delinquent used the judicial proceedings as a chance to present himself and his ideology in the public. He claimed that Schlick's anti-metaphysical philosophy had "interfered with his moral restraint". In another version of the events, the murderer covered up all political causes and claimed that he was motivated by jealousy over his failed attachment to the female student Sylvia Borowicka, leading to a paranoid delusion about Schlick as his rival and persecutor. Nelböck was tried and sentenced, but the event became a distortedcause célèbrearound which crystallized the growing nationalist and anti-Jewish sentiments in the city. (The fact that Schlick was not Jewish did not seem to matter to propagandists capitalizing on the crime.) After theannexation of Austria into Nazi Germanyin 1938 the assassin was released on license after serving two years of a 10-year sentence.

Legacy

Schlick's enduring contribution to the world of philosophy is as the fount oflogical positivism.His humanity, good will, gentleness, and especially his encouragement have been documented by many of his peers. Herbert Feigl andAlbert Blumberg,in their introduction to "General Theory of Knowledge," wrote,

No other thinker was so well prepared to give new impetus to the philosophical questings of the younger generation. Though many of his students and successors have attained a higher degree of exactitude and adequacy in their logical analyses of problems in the theory of knowledge, Schlick had an unsurpassed sense for what is essential in philosophical issues.

— Feigl and Blumberg, Introduction,General Theory of Knowledge,p. xxi

Works

• Lebensweisheit. Versuch einer Glückseligkeitslehre.Munich, Becksche Verlagsbuchhandlung 1908
• Das Wesen der Wahrheit nach der modernen Logik,in: Vierteljahrsschrift für wissenschaftliche Philosophie und Soziologie, Jg. 34, 1910, p. 386-477
• Die philosophische Bedeutung des Relativitätsprinzips,in:Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik,159, 1915, S. 129-175
• Raum und Zeit in der gegenwärtigen Physik.Berlin: Verlag von Julius Springer 1917 (4th ed. 1922)
• Hermann von Helmholtz. Schriften zur Erkenntnistheorie(Publishers: Moritz Schlick & Paul Hertz). Berlin: Springer 1921
• Allgemeine Erkenntnislehre.Berlin: Verlag von Julius Springer 1918 (2nd edition 1925)
• Kritizistische oder empiristische Deutung der neuen Physik?,in:Kant-Studien,26, 1921, p. 96-111
• Einsteins Relativitätstheorie.In: Mosse Almanach, 1921, S. 105-123.
• Erleben, Erkennen, Metaphysik,in: Kant-Studien, 31, 1926, p. 146-158
• Vom Sinn des Lebens,in: Symposion. Philosophische Zeitschrift für Forschung und Aussprache, Jg. 1, 1927, p. 331-354
• Fragen der Ethik.Vienna: Verlag von Julius Springer 1930
• Gibt es ein Materiales Apriori?,1930
• Moritz Schlick (1930)."Die Wende der Philosophie".Erkenntnis.1:4–11.{{cite journal}}:Unknown parameter|authormask=ignored (|author-mask=suggested) (help)
• Moritz Schlick (1934)."Über das Fundament der Erkenntnis".Erkenntnis.4:79–99.{{cite journal}}:Unknown parameter|authormask=ignored (|author-mask=suggested) (help)
• Unanswerable Questions,1935
• Meaning and Verification,1936
• Gesammelte Aufsätze 1926-1936.Vienna: Gerold & Co. 1938
• Die Probleme der Philosophie in ihrem Zusammenhang.Frankfurt: Suhrkamp Verlag 1986
• Moritz Schlick Gesamtausgabe.Vienna/New York: Springer Verlag 2006. — Almost complete author copy of Vol.I/1,I/2,I/3,I/5,I/6

References

• Edmonds, David and John Eidinow.Wittgenstein's Poker.New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
• Fynn Ole Engler, Mathias Iven.Moritz Schlick. Leben, Werk und Wirkung.Berlin: Parerga 2008.Template:De icon
• Schlick, Moritz. Positivism and Realism. Originally appeared in Erkenntnis 111 (1932/33); translated by Peter Heath and reprinted in Moritz Schlick: Philosophical Papers, Volume II (1925–1936) from Vienna Circle Collection, edited by Henk L. Mulder (Kluwer, 1979), pp. 259–284.

External links

• Schlick: Epistemology and Modern Physics
• Moritz Schlick research departmentatRostock University