PHIL 220 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Moritz Schlick, Otto Neurath, Rudolf Carnap
15 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Logical positivism: a famous attempt to defend the possibility of objective evidence, and objectivity of science more generally (1900-1950) Rationalists vs. british empiricists: empiricist: you need to experience (locke, hume), rationalists: you can discover things by reasoning alone (descartes, spinoza). Kant: tried to bring both camps together, began many responses: Logical positivism (motivated to detest german idealism, advanced physics, started the vienna circle). Low times for logical positivism: was during the dark ages (200-1400s) and the romantic period (i. e. german idealism, Dogmatic (catholic church in the dark ages led to severe oppression and despair) Logical positivism"s full stride: scientific revolution and enlightenment (1500-1700s) Vienne circle published the scientific concept of the world. Pretention and obscurity features in the dogmas of bad times. If you cloak a dogmatic philosophy in enough pretention and obscurity, people will believe it, even when it works against the greater good: Ex: german idealism led to extreme oppression and despair (the holocaust).
