The Subterranean Influence of Pragmatism on the Vienna Circle: Peirce, Ramsey, Wittgenstein
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15173/jhap.v4i5.2946Abstract
An underappreciated fact in the history of analytic philosophy is that American pragmatism had an early and strong influence on the Vienna Circle. The path of that influence goes from Charles Peirce to Frank Ramsey to Ludwig Wittgenstein to Moritz Schlick. That path is traced in this paper, and along the way some standard understandings of Ramsey and Wittgenstein, especially, are radically altered.
References
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Boncompagni, Anna, forthcoming-a. “The ‘Middle’ Wittgenstein (and the ‘Later’ Ramsey) on the Pragmatist Conception of Truth.” In Misak and Price (forthcoming).
———, forthcoming-b. “Wittgenstein and Pragmatism: A Neglected Remark in Manuscript 107 (1930).” In Philosophical Revolutions: Pragmatism, Analytic Philosophy and Phenomenology, edited by Maria Baghramian. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Hacking, Ian, 2014. Why Is There Philosophy of Mathematics At All? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hahn, Hans, Rudolf Carnap, and Otto Neurath, 1929. Wissenschaftliche Weltauffassung. Der Wiener Kreis. Vienna: Wolf. Translated as “The Scientific World-Conception. The Vienna Circle” in F. Stadler, T. Uebel (eds.), Wissenschaftliche Weltauffassung. Der Wiener Kreis. Vienna and New York: Springer, 2012, pp. 75–116.
Holton, Richard and Huw Price, 2003. “Ramsey on Saying and Whistling: A Discordant Note.” Noûs 37: 325–41.
James, William, 1975. Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. Volume 1 of The Works of William James, edited by Fredson Bowers and Ignas K. Skrupskelis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (First published 1907.) Keynes, John Maynard, 1931. Review of The Foundations of Mathematics by F. P. Ramsey. The New Statesman and Nation, 3 October.
Malcolm, Norman, 1958. Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Memoir. London: Oxford University Press.
McGuinness, Brian, 1979. “Editor’s Preface.” In Waismann (1979), pp. 11–31.
———, 2012a. “Forward.” In Paul (2012), pp. vii–xiii.
———, 2012b. “Introduction.” In McGuinness (2012c), pp. 1–12.
McGuinness, Brian, ed., 2012c. Wittgenstein in Cambridge: Letters and Documents 1911–51. Oxford: Blackwell.
Misak, Cheryl, 2013. The American Pragmatists. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
———, forthcoming-a. Cambridge Pragmatism: From Peirce and James to Ramsey and Wittgenstein. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
———, forthcoming-b. “Ramsey’s 1929 Pragmatism.” In Misak and Price (forthcoming).
Misak, Cheryl and Huw Price, eds., forthcoming. The Practical Turn: Pragmatism and the Long British 20th Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nedo, Michael, 1998. “Introduction.” In Wiener Ausgabe, edited by Michael Nedo, pp. 1–5. Vienna: Springer.
Neurath, Otto, 1930–31. “Historische Anmerkungen.” Erkenntnis 1 (Proceedings of the First Meeting on the Epistemology of the Exact Sciences in Prague): 311–39.
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———, 1926. “Truth and Probability.” Reprinted in Ramsey (1990), pp. 52–94.
———, 1927. “Facts and Propositions.” Reprinted in Ramsey (1990), pp. 34–51.
———, 1929a. “General Propositions and Causality.” Reprinted in Ramsey (1990), pp. 145–63.
———, 1929b. “Philosophy.” Reprinted in Ramsey (1990), pp. 1–7.
———, 1990. F. P. Ramsey: Philosophical Papers, edited by D. H. Mellor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
———, 1991a. Notes on Philosophy, Probability and Mathematics, edited by Maria Carla Galavotti. Naples: Bibliopolis.
———, 1991b. On Truth, edited by Nicholas Rescher and Ulrich Majer. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Russell, Bertrand, 1911. “Analytic Realism.” Reprinted in The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, vol. 6, Logical and Philosophical Papers 1909–1911, edited by John G. Slater, pp. 132–46. London: Routledge. 1992.
———, 1918. “The Philosophy of Logical Atomism.” Reprinted in The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, vol. 8, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism and Other Essays 1914–1919, edited by John G. Slater, pp. 157–244. London: Routledge, 1986.
———, 1921. The Analysis of Mind. London: Allen & Unwin. References to the Dover Philosophical Classics reprint. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2005.
———, 1925. “Introduction to the Second Edition.” In Whitehead and Russell (1925–27), pp. xiii–xlvi.
———, 1959. My Philosophical Development. London: Allen & Unwin.
Schlick, Moritz, 1927. Letter to Albert Einstein, 14 July 1927. Einstein Collection, Hebrew University (EC 21–599).
Stadler, Friedrich, 2001. The Vienna Circle: Studies in the Origins, Development, and Influence of Logical Empiricism. Vienna: Springer.
Uebel, Thomas, 2015. “American Pragmatism and the Vienna Circle: The Early Years.” Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 3: 1–35.
von Wright, G. H., ed., 1973. Ludwig Wittgenstein: Letters to C. K. Ogden, with Comments on the English Translation of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and an Appendix of Letters by Frank Plumpton Ramsey. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
von Wright, G. H., 1982. Wittgenstein. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Waismann, Friedrich, 1979. Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle, edited by Brian McGuinness; translated by Joachim Schulte and Brian McGuinness. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Whitehead, Alfred North and Bertrand Russell, 1925–27. Principia Mathematica, 2nd ed. (3 vols.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 1969. On Certainty, edited by G. E. M. Anscombe and G. H. von Wright. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
———, 1975. Philosophical Remarks, edited by Rush Rhees. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
———, 1980. Wittgenstein’s Lectures: Cambridge 1930–32. From the Notes of John King and Desmond Lee, edited by Desmond Lee. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
———, 2001. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, translated by D. F. Pears and Brian McGuinness. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. (First published 1922.)
———, 2003. Nachlass: The Bergen Electronic Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
———, 2009. Philosophical Investigations, 4th ed., translated by G. E. M. Anscombe, P. M. S. Hacker and Joachim Schulte. Oxford: Blackwell. (First published 1953.)
Boncompagni, Anna, forthcoming-a. “The ‘Middle’ Wittgenstein (and the ‘Later’ Ramsey) on the Pragmatist Conception of Truth.” In Misak and Price (forthcoming).
———, forthcoming-b. “Wittgenstein and Pragmatism: A Neglected Remark in Manuscript 107 (1930).” In Philosophical Revolutions: Pragmatism, Analytic Philosophy and Phenomenology, edited by Maria Baghramian. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Carnap, Rudolf, 1963. “Intellectual Autobiography.” In The Philosophy of Rudolf Carnap, edited by P. A. Schilpp, pp. 3–43. La Salle, IL: Open Court.
Feigl, Herbert, 1969. “The Wiener Kreis in America.” In Perspectives in American History, Volume 2, edited by Donald Fleming and Bernard Bailyn, pp. 630–73. Cambridge, MA: Warren Center for Studies in American History.
Frank, Philipp, 1949. “Physical Theories of the Twentieth Century and School Philosophy.” In Modern Science and Its Philosophy, pp. 90–121. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Translation of “Was bedeuten die gegenwärtigen physikalischen Theorien für die allgemeine Erkenntnislehre?” Erkenntnis 1 (1930): 126–57.
Hacking, Ian, 2014. Why Is There Philosophy of Mathematics At All? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hahn, Hans, Rudolf Carnap, and Otto Neurath, 1929. Wissenschaftliche Weltauffassung. Der Wiener Kreis. Vienna: Wolf. Translated as “The Scientific World-Conception. The Vienna Circle” in F. Stadler, T. Uebel (eds.), Wissenschaftliche Weltauffassung. Der Wiener Kreis. Vienna and New York: Springer, 2012, pp. 75–116.
Holton, Richard and Huw Price, 2003. “Ramsey on Saying and Whistling: A Discordant Note.” Noûs 37: 325–41.
James, William, 1975. Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. Volume 1 of The Works of William James, edited by Fredson Bowers and Ignas K. Skrupskelis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (First published 1907.) Keynes, John Maynard, 1931. Review of The Foundations of Mathematics by F. P. Ramsey. The New Statesman and Nation, 3 October.
Malcolm, Norman, 1958. Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Memoir. London: Oxford University Press.
McGuinness, Brian, 1979. “Editor’s Preface.” In Waismann (1979), pp. 11–31.
———, 2012a. “Forward.” In Paul (2012), pp. vii–xiii.
———, 2012b. “Introduction.” In McGuinness (2012c), pp. 1–12.
McGuinness, Brian, ed., 2012c. Wittgenstein in Cambridge: Letters and Documents 1911–51. Oxford: Blackwell.
Misak, Cheryl, 2013. The American Pragmatists. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
———, forthcoming-a. Cambridge Pragmatism: From Peirce and James to Ramsey and Wittgenstein. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
———, forthcoming-b. “Ramsey’s 1929 Pragmatism.” In Misak and Price (forthcoming).
Misak, Cheryl and Huw Price, eds., forthcoming. The Practical Turn: Pragmatism and the Long British 20th Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nedo, Michael, 1998. “Introduction.” In Wiener Ausgabe, edited by Michael Nedo, pp. 1–5. Vienna: Springer.
Neurath, Otto, 1930–31. “Historische Anmerkungen.” Erkenntnis 1 (Proceedings of the First Meeting on the Epistemology of the Exact Sciences in Prague): 311–39.
Paul, Margaret, 2012. Frank Ramsey: A Sister’s Memoir. Cambridge: Smith-Gordon.
Peirce, Charles Sanders, 1900–. The Writings of Charles S. Peirce: A Chronological Edition. 3 Volumes. Peirce Edition Project. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
———, 1931–58. Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, edited by C. Hartshorne and P. Weiss (vols. i–vi), A. Burks (vols. vii and viii). Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
Ramsey, F. P., 1921. “The Nature of Propositions.” Reprinted in Ramsey (1991b), pp. 107–119.
———, 1926. “Truth and Probability.” Reprinted in Ramsey (1990), pp. 52–94.
———, 1927. “Facts and Propositions.” Reprinted in Ramsey (1990), pp. 34–51.
———, 1929a. “General Propositions and Causality.” Reprinted in Ramsey (1990), pp. 145–63.
———, 1929b. “Philosophy.” Reprinted in Ramsey (1990), pp. 1–7.
———, 1990. F. P. Ramsey: Philosophical Papers, edited by D. H. Mellor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
———, 1991a. Notes on Philosophy, Probability and Mathematics, edited by Maria Carla Galavotti. Naples: Bibliopolis.
———, 1991b. On Truth, edited by Nicholas Rescher and Ulrich Majer. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Russell, Bertrand, 1911. “Analytic Realism.” Reprinted in The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, vol. 6, Logical and Philosophical Papers 1909–1911, edited by John G. Slater, pp. 132–46. London: Routledge. 1992.
———, 1918. “The Philosophy of Logical Atomism.” Reprinted in The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, vol. 8, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism and Other Essays 1914–1919, edited by John G. Slater, pp. 157–244. London: Routledge, 1986.
———, 1921. The Analysis of Mind. London: Allen & Unwin. References to the Dover Philosophical Classics reprint. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2005.
———, 1925. “Introduction to the Second Edition.” In Whitehead and Russell (1925–27), pp. xiii–xlvi.
———, 1959. My Philosophical Development. London: Allen & Unwin.
Schlick, Moritz, 1927. Letter to Albert Einstein, 14 July 1927. Einstein Collection, Hebrew University (EC 21–599).
Stadler, Friedrich, 2001. The Vienna Circle: Studies in the Origins, Development, and Influence of Logical Empiricism. Vienna: Springer.
Uebel, Thomas, 2015. “American Pragmatism and the Vienna Circle: The Early Years.” Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 3: 1–35.
von Wright, G. H., ed., 1973. Ludwig Wittgenstein: Letters to C. K. Ogden, with Comments on the English Translation of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and an Appendix of Letters by Frank Plumpton Ramsey. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
von Wright, G. H., 1982. Wittgenstein. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Waismann, Friedrich, 1979. Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle, edited by Brian McGuinness; translated by Joachim Schulte and Brian McGuinness. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Whitehead, Alfred North and Bertrand Russell, 1925–27. Principia Mathematica, 2nd ed. (3 vols.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 1969. On Certainty, edited by G. E. M. Anscombe and G. H. von Wright. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
———, 1975. Philosophical Remarks, edited by Rush Rhees. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
———, 1980. Wittgenstein’s Lectures: Cambridge 1930–32. From the Notes of John King and Desmond Lee, edited by Desmond Lee. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
———, 2001. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, translated by D. F. Pears and Brian McGuinness. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. (First published 1922.)
———, 2003. Nachlass: The Bergen Electronic Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
———, 2009. Philosophical Investigations, 4th ed., translated by G. E. M. Anscombe, P. M. S. Hacker and Joachim Schulte. Oxford: Blackwell. (First published 1953.)
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