The doctoral thesis submitted at the University of Berlin in 1904 investigated the reflection of light in a non-homogeneous medium, marking a shift toward rigorous scientific inquiry for the author. Moritz Schlick, a trained physicist turned philosopher, would go on to establish the intellectual framework that defined logical positivism and the influential Vienna Circle during the interwar period.
Transition from Physics to Philosophy
Born in Berlin in 1882, Schlick sought exact knowledge through mathematical physics rather than speculative metaphysics. He completed his doctoral studies under Max Planck before moving through positions at the University of Rostock and Kiel University. His early publications, including the 1908 volume The Wisdom of Life, explored eudaemonism. By 1915, he had turned his attention to Einstein's special theory of relativity, producing work that received praise from Albert Einstein for its clarity.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Founding the Vienna Circle
In 1922, Schlick assumed the chair of Naturphilosophie at the University of Vienna, succeeding Ernst Mach and Ludwig Boltzmann. He organized a weekly assembly of thinkers in the Chemistry Building, including Hans Hahn, Rudolf Carnap, Herbert Feigl, Kurt Gödel, Otto Neurath, and Friedrich Waismann. This group, eventually termed the Vienna Circle, engaged with the works of Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, and Ludwig Wittgenstein to develop a logical theory of symbolism and language.
Epistemological Framework
His primary work, the General Theory of Knowledge, authored between 1918 and 1925, challenged the concept of synthetic a priori knowledge. Schlick argued that self-evident truths exist only within formal logic and mathematics, while all other statements require empirical evidence to avoid being categorized as meaningless metaphysics. He further analyzed language by distinguishing between internal grammatical rules and the application rules that connect language to external observations.
Perspectives on Free Will
Schlick categorized the problem of free will as a pseudo-problem arising from a semantic misunderstanding regarding the term law. He argued that while legal systems prescribe citizen behavior, scientific natural laws serve only as descriptive formulas of actual behavior. Consequently, he believed that natural laws impose no compulsion, effectively nullifying the contradiction between determinism and human freedom.
Fast facts
- Born: 1882, Berlin
- Died: 1936, Vienna
- Citizenship: Germany
- Key academic appointment: University of Vienna
- PhD supervisor: Max Planck
- Burial site: Pötzleinsdorfer Friedhof
- Major movement: Logical positivism
Questions readers ask
What was the core principle of the Vienna Circle?
The group agreed that any statement not based on definition and incapable of being confirmed or falsified by empirical evidence is classified as meaningless.
How did Schlick reconcile determinism with free will?
He argued that confusion arose from mistaking scientific natural laws, which describe behavior, for legal laws, which prescribe it.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of Vienna, Kiel University and University of Rostock
- Fields: philosophy
