Carnap in Context II: (Dis)continuities

Rudolf Carnap (1891-1970) is regarded as a classic of 20th century analytic philosophy and the philosophy of science. This is true for his work as a member of the Vienna circle (1927-1935) and for his time in the US (1936-1970). This project combines historical and systematic research on Carnap as well as the development of a critical edition of his (early) scientific correspondence and his (late) diaries. It is a follow-up project to the FWF research grant P27733 Early Carnap in Context. Whereas the first project focused on the roots of Carnaps early philosophy in German cultural history, this project addresses the continuities and discontinuities between Carnaps early and later intellectual development. The project is based, on (A) two case studies: 1) Carnaps first major book, Der logische Aufbau der Welt (Carnap 1998), published in 1928, together with earlier writings from the Nachlass; 2) Carnaps anti-metaphysical writings, together with his writings on moral philosophy. The project is further based on (B) three editorial tasks: 1) the finalization of an edition of Carnaps early diaries that is recentlyunder preparation (seehttp://homepage.univie.ac.at/christian.damboeck /carnap_diaries_2015-2018/version_2017.pdf for a recent version of the working manuscript of the edition); 2) preparation of Carnaps early (prior to 1935) scientific correspondence for publication; and 3) transcription of Carnaps late diaries from shorthand. On the editorial side, this project is part of a long-term initiative intended as a Parallelaktion to the edition, Collected Works of Rudolf Carnap whereas the latter is focused on Carnaps published writings, the former addresses his unpublished work from the Nachlass. On the systematic side, this project contextualizes Carnaps philosophy in a twofold way. First, he is analyzed as a German- Austrian philosopher, reconstructing (a) influences from the German philosophy scene on early Carnap, in particular, the Dilthey-school, Neo-Kantianism, Phenomenology, and Vienna Circles early Logical Empiricism; (b) the role of the overall cultural-historical background, with the inclusion of the German Youth-Movement, the First World War, the Bauhaus scene, and the context of Red Vienna. Second, Carnap is viewed as an American philosopher, influenced by (and influential for) pragmatism, analytic philosophy, and philosophy of science in the US. The key systematic task of this project is to identify continuities and discontinuities between these two parts of Carnaps life and work, by means of the aforementioned case studies and editorial tasks.

Rudolf Carnap (1891-1970) is regarded as a classic of 20th century analytic philosophy and the philosophy of science. This is true for his work as a member of the Vienna circle (1927-1935) and for his time in the US (1936-1970). This project combines historical and systematic research on Carnap as well as the development of a critical edition of his (early) scientific correspondence and his (late) diaries. It is a follow-up project to the FWF research grant P27733 Early Carnap in Context. Whereas the first project focused on the roots of Carnap's early philosophy in German cultural history, this project addresses the continuities and discontinuities between Carnap's early and later intellectual development. The project is based, on (A) two case studies: 1) Carnap's first major book, Der logische Aufbau der Welt (Carnap 1998), published in 1928, together with earlier writings from the Nachlass; 2) Carnap's anti-metaphysical writings, together with his writings on moral philosophy. The project is further based on (B) three editorial tasks: 1) the finalization of an edition of Carnap's early diaries that is recently under preparation (see http://homepage.univie.ac.at/christian.damboeck /carnap_diaries_2015-2018/version_2017.pdf for a recent version of the working manuscript of the edition); 2) preparation of Carnap's early (prior to 1935) scientific correspondence for publication; and 3) transcription of Carnap's late diaries from shorthand. On the editorial side, this project is part of a long-term initiative intended as a "Parallelaktion" to the edition, Collected Works of Rudolf Carnap - whereas the latter is focused on Carnap's published writings, the former addresses his unpublished work from the Nachlass. On the systematic side, this project contextualizes Carnap's philosophy in a twofold way. First, he is analyzed as a German-Austrian philosopher, reconstructing (a) influences from the German philosophy scene on early Carnap, in particular, the Dilthey-school, Neo-Kantianism, Phenomenology, and Vienna Circle's early Logical Empiricism; (b) the role of the overall cultural-historical background, with the inclusion of the German Youth-Movement, the First World War, the Bauhaus scene, and the context of "Red Vienna". Second, Carnap is viewed as an American philosopher, influenced by (and influential for) pragmatism, analytic philosophy, and philosophy of science in the US. The key systematic task of this project is to identify continuities and discontinuities between these two parts of Carnap's life and work, by means of the aforementioned case studies and editorial tasks.