Abstract
From a cultural and historical point of view, Logical Empiricism and Carnap’s pivotal opus, The Logical Structure of the World, did not evolve in a vacuum. This applies equally in a history of philosophy context as well as under consideration of contemporary historical and cultural influences such as the socio-cultural setting in Vienna and Prague, the correlation between Logical Empiricism and Bauhaus modernism, the connection to the Life Reform Movement or the Youth Movement with its own life philosophy.
Pursuing Carnap’s progression on a micro level of history and referring the results back to Carnap’s philosophy is now facilitated by recent access to his Diaries from 1908–1935. These shorthand records, reading lists, travel reports and notes constitute a valuable source for the research of networks and social movements which left their mark on him. With support from Konstanz, the Diaries are now being prepared for publication at the Institute Vienna Circle, University of Vienna (FWP project P27733, directed by Christian Damböck).
The objective of this meeting is to look at Carnap’s philosophy from a combination of historical, cultural and philosophical perspectives, enabling further evaluation of the Diaries and tracing newly found interrelationships and their systematic definition.
The meeting will be held at the University of Konstanz, October 5-6, 2017. It is locally organised by Brigitte Parakenings and the Philosophical Archive’s founder and scientific advisor Gereon Wolters and sponsored by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung as well as by the Austrian Wissenschaftsfonds FWF and the Universitätsgesellschaft e.V..