Deutsche Version

In 1924, a philosopher (Moritz Schlick), a mathematician (Hans Hahn) and a social reformer (Otto Neurath) founded a philosophical circle in Vienna.

 

The group discussed questions such as: how can the efficiency of mathematics be explained? What is the role of logical propositions? What is the basis of scientific knowledge?

 

Young thinkers such as Kurt Gödel, Rudolf Carnap or Karl Menger joined the group, while others (such as Karl Popper or Oskar Morgenstern) were close associates. The circle quickly became the center of logical empiricism. It had close contacts with Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein. The topics discussed by the circle were soon taken up in Prague and Berlin, Cambridge and Harvard.

 

The public phase of the Vienna Circle began in 1929, with the Verein Ernst Mach. The Vienna Circle quickly became a popular target of antisemitic and reactionary currents at the University of Vienna, the political surroundings turned increasingly adverse.

 

In 1934, Hahn died. Neurath was forced into exile. Schlick was murdered in 1936 by a former student. The Vienna Circle dissolved even before the Nazi takeover, and it never succeeded in regaining a foothold in Vienna after the war. It did, however, continue to exert a decisive influence on the intellectual and scientific history of the 20th century.

 

Honorary committee:

CARL DJERASSI †

MARTIN KARPLUS

WALTER KOHN

HELGA NOWOTNY

PETER PULZER

EDWARD TIMMS

ERIKA WEINZIERL†

ANTON ZEILINGER

The Department of Typography and Graphic Communication,

University of Reading

Architecture:

 

Digital Media:

Scientific Collaborator:

Christoph Limbeck-Lilienau

Graphics:

Bea Laufersweiler

 

Impressum