Western Philosophy
20th-century philosophy |
Moritz Schlick around 1930
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Name
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Birth
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April 14, 1882
Berlin, Germany
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Death
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June 22 1936 (aged 54)
Vienna, Austria
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School/tradition
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Analytic philosophy, Logical
Positivism, Vienna Circle
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Main interests
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Logic, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Mathematics, Ethics
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Influences
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Ernst Mach, Ludwig Wittgenstein
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Influenced
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Vienna Circle, Albert Einstein,
Herbert Feigl, Albert Blumberg
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Moritz Schlick 
listen? (April 14,
1882–June 22, 1936) was a
German philosopher and the founding father of logical
positivism and the Vienna Circle.
Early Life and Works
Schlick was born in Berlin to a wealthy family. He studied physics at Heidelberg, Lausanne, and,
ultimately, the University of Berlin under Max 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"). In 1908, he published Lebensweisheit ("The Wisdom of Life"), a slim volume about eudaemonism, 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 Modern Logic"), was
published in 1910 . Several essays about aesthetics followed, whereupon Schlick turned his
attention to problems of epistemology, the philosophy of science, and more general questions about science.
In this last category, Schlick distinguished himself by publishing a paper in 1915 about Einstein's special theory of relativity, a topic only ten
years old. He also published Raum und Zeit in der gegenwärtigen Physik ("Space and Time in Modern Physics"), a more
systematic treatment of post-Newtonian physics.
Mature Works and Life in Vienna
In 1922, Schlick became a professor in the philosophy of inductive sciences at the
University of Vienna after two unsatisfying appointments in Rostock and Kiel. In the same year occurred two events that shaped the remainder
of Schlick's life. First, a group of philosophers and scientists (including but not limited to Rudolf Carnap, Herbert Feigl, Kurt
Gödel, Hans Hahn, Otto Neurath, and
Friedrich Waismann) suggested to Schlick that they conduct regular meetings to
discuss science and philosophy. They initially called themselves the Ernst Mach Association,
but forever after they have been known as the Vienna Circle. The second great event of
1922 was the publication of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, a work of terse, lapidary brilliance that advanced,
among other things, a logical theory of symbolism and a 'picture theory' of language. Schlick
and his group were overwhelmed by the work: they made it a topic for discussion at nearly every meeting. Schlick himself
contacted Wittgenstein in 1924 and extolled the virtues of Wittgenstein's book vis-a-vis his immediate circle. Eventually
Wittgenstein agreed to meet with Schlick and Waismann to discuss the Tractatus and other ideas. Through Schlick's
influence, Wittgenstein was encouraged to consider a return to philosophy after some ten years of idleness. It is partly to
Schlick's credit that Wittgenstein began to pen the reflections that make up large parts of Philosophical Investigations. 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. Wittgenstein
continued discussions in letters to Schlick, but his formal association with the Vienna Circle ended in 1932.
Schlick had worked on his Allgemeine 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, the General Theory is perhaps his greatest work in its acute
reasoning against synthetic a priori knowledge. This critique of synthetic a priori knowledge 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 to empirical 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. Between 1926 and 1930, Schlick labored to finish Fragen
der Ethik (Problems of Ethics), in which he surprised some of his fellow Circlists by
including ethics as a viable branch of philosophy. Also during this time, the Vienna Circle published The Scientific View of
the World: The Vienna Circle as an homage to Schlick. Its strong anti-metaphysical stance crystallized the viewpoint of the
group.
Rise of National Socialism and Death
With the rise of the Nazis in Germany and 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 by Herbert Feigl in
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 drew a pistol and shot him in the chest. Schlick died very soon afterward. The student was tried and sentenced, but he became
a cause célèbre for the growing anti-Jewish sentiments in the city. (That Schlick was not Jewish tended to be overlooked.)
Nelböck was paroled shortly afterward and became a member of the Austrian Nazi Party after the Anschluss.
Legacy
Schlick's enduring contribution to the world of philosophy is as the fount of logical positivism. His humanity, good will,
gentleness, and especially his encouragement have been documented by many of his peers. Herbert Feigl and Albert Blumberg, in
their excellent introduction to "General Theory of Knowledge," have written,
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
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