The Murder of Professor Schlick: The Rise and Fall of the Vienna Circle
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- Author：David Edmonds
- ISBN：0691164908
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Summary
From the author of Wittgenstein's Poker and Would You Kill the Fat Man？， the story of an extraordinary group of philosophers during a dark chapter in Europe's history
On June 22， 1936， the philosopher Moritz Schlick was on his way to deliver a lecture at the University of Vienna when Johann Nelböck， a deranged former student of Schlick's， shot him dead on the university steps。 Some Austrian newspapers defended the madman， while Nelböck himself argued in court that his onetime teacher had promoted a treacherous Jewish philosophy。 David Edmonds traces the rise and fall of the Vienna Circle--an influential group of brilliant thinkers led by Schlick--and of a philosophical movement that sought to do away with metaphysics and pseudoscience in a city darkened by fascism， anti-Semitism， and unreason。
The Vienna Circle's members included Otto Neurath， Rudolf Carnap， and the eccentric logician Kurt Gödel。 On its fringes were two other philosophical titans of the twentieth century， Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper。 The Circle championed the philosophy of logical empiricism， which held that only two types of propositions have cognitive meaning， those that can be verified through experience and those that are analytically true。 For a time， it was the most fashionable movement in philosophy。 Yet by the outbreak of World War II， Schlick's group had disbanded and almost all its members had fled。 Edmonds reveals why the Austro-fascists and the Nazis saw their philosophy as such a threat。
The Murder of Professor Schlick paints an unforgettable portrait of the Vienna Circle and its members while weaving an enthralling narrative set against the backdrop of economic catastrophe and rising extremism in Hitler's Europe。
On June 22， 1936， the philosopher Moritz Schlick was on his way to deliver a lecture at the University of Vienna when Johann Nelböck， a deranged former student of Schlick's， shot him dead on the university steps。 Some Austrian newspapers defended the madman， while Nelböck himself argued in court that his onetime teacher had promoted a treacherous Jewish philosophy。 David Edmonds traces the rise and fall of the Vienna Circle--an influential group of brilliant thinkers led by Schlick--and of a philosophical movement that sought to do away with metaphysics and pseudoscience in a city darkened by fascism， anti-Semitism， and unreason。
The Vienna Circle's members included Otto Neurath， Rudolf Carnap， and the eccentric logician Kurt Gödel。 On its fringes were two other philosophical titans of the twentieth century， Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper。 The Circle championed the philosophy of logical empiricism， which held that only two types of propositions have cognitive meaning， those that can be verified through experience and those that are analytically true。 For a time， it was the most fashionable movement in philosophy。 Yet by the outbreak of World War II， Schlick's group had disbanded and almost all its members had fled。 Edmonds reveals why the Austro-fascists and the Nazis saw their philosophy as such a threat。
The Murder of Professor Schlick paints an unforgettable portrait of the Vienna Circle and its members while weaving an enthralling narrative set against the backdrop of economic catastrophe and rising extremism in Hitler's Europe。
Reviews
Rajen Anderson
，
Great！ Really interesting history of both the philosophers and the setting initially housed and then expelled them （Vienna）。
Socraticgadfly
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I have previously read "Wittgenstein's Poker，" "Rousseau's Dog，" and "Would You Kill the Fat Man，" as well as suggesting to Edmonds that his next book should be about Koestler punching Camus。 （Yes， that too happened！）This is a tad ahead of "Wittgenstein's Poker" for his best book。That's for several reasons。 One is that it has a solid overview of the Vienna Circle， including its "satellites" in Prague and Berlin， and its acolytes such as Ayer in Britain and Quine in the US。Second is that Edmonds I have previously read "Wittgenstein's Poker，" "Rousseau's Dog，" and "Would You Kill the Fat Man，" as well as suggesting to Edmonds that his next book should be about Koestler punching Camus。 （Yes， that too happened！）This is a tad ahead of "Wittgenstein's Poker" for his best book。That's for several reasons。 One is that it has a solid overview of the Vienna Circle， including its "satellites" in Prague and Berlin， and its acolytes such as Ayer in Britain and Quine in the US。Second is that Edmonds is a bit more puckish here than in some of this other writings。Third is that he clearly makes Vienna a "character" in the book。 （I've read one other book， about fin de siecle Vienna， with the rise of Freud， the exile of Lenin and Trotsky， etc。， that did similar。）Related is that Edmonds had relatives in 1930s Vienna。 Fortunately， they all escaped。Fourth is related to the first， in talking about the ties of Wittgenstein and Popper to the Circle。 Popper comes off， overall， as losing a bit more luster。 （He in later life claimed not to be a member of the Circle， but at and around the time of writing "The Open Society，" when not so famous， claimed he WAS a member。）That said， at five stars， I offer a complaint， and specifically， about the "dramatis personae" at the end， in an epilogue。 The snarky entry for Tarski is rude。 And it ignores that a lot of the ideas about self-reference and many related matters that many educated people attribute to Gödel actually come from Tarski， namely， ideas in Tarski's undefinability theorem。 Gödel partially wrote about some of them， but only really within the world of mathematics。 Tarski extended this to language and made the concepts much broader。Ideally， this is 4。5 stars， within the concept of Edmonds' approach and related issues。 。。。more
James Klagge
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A well-told story of the characters involved in an important episode in 20th Century philosophical and intellectual history。 Lots of interesting biographical and historical details， and solid philosophy。
Edwin
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I vaguely remembered the Wiener Kreis from my History of Psychology class。 I was not so sure anymore what they stood for exactly， but I did realise they were pretty influential。 David Edmonds wrote a very readable and enjoyable history of this group。 What an amazing collection of individuals in and around this Circle。 Most well known names like Popper， Wittgenstein， Einstein had something to do with it， but the core were other names like Schlick， Carnap and many others。 Freud was also active in I vaguely remembered the Wiener Kreis from my History of Psychology class。 I was not so sure anymore what they stood for exactly， but I did realise they were pretty influential。 David Edmonds wrote a very readable and enjoyable history of this group。 What an amazing collection of individuals in and around this Circle。 Most well known names like Popper， Wittgenstein， Einstein had something to do with it， but the core were other names like Schlick， Carnap and many others。 Freud was also active in Vienna around that time and being studied and was known by some of the Kreis members。I was a bit scared to start reading about the Anschlus and what that meant for many of them， as most of them had some kind of Jewish background。 That is of course how they ended up all over the English speaking world。 It is hard to read how some saw it coming and others only figured it out when it was almost too late。 The flight from Neurath from Scheveningen to the UK in an over-crowded small ship was illustrative for this。What was nice for me （being Dutch） that there was a small "cameo" appearance of Brouwer， the "mathematical mystic" who， according to Edmunds， re-sparked Wittgenstein to get back into philosophy。 Never heard that story before。One thing I was interested in， and I should read more about， is their opinions about Heidegger。 It was mentioned that this was the "enemy" in terms of ideas， but I am interested if the attacks were substantial and detailed or more like "it's just metaphysics and not understandable so it must be bad"。 One final point; I was always puzzled by "continental" vs "analytic" philosophy which some people seems rather keen on distinguishing。 But if many of the Wiener Kreis members went to the US and UK and helped developing ideas there， then that is also "continental" as they came from the European continent？All in all - highly recommended！ I cannot stop being amazed by how a remarkable time it was that all these people lived and could develop all these ideas in one city in Austria。 。。。more
John Kaye
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A sort of biography of the Vienna Circle， and a bit more besides。 Light， but enough， on the actual internals of the philosophy， and a nice picture of the sort of academic and personal tensions， that probably applies to every sphere of academic life—you can sort of see it happening now in the virology and epidemiology area。 Dave Edmonds writes with a light touch which makes a difference。 An enjoyable read。
Massimo Redaelli
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More a history book than a philosophy one， still interesting。 I will remember it mostly for introducing me to Neurath。
Marts （Thinker）
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This is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in philosophyv who also appreciates a bit of the history behind varied events in the lives of philosophers。 Here we see the initial formation of the Vienna Circle， varied occurrences during the time of its existence （of course including Schlick's murder）， and also a peek into the members lives。。。 This is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in philosophyv who also appreciates a bit of the history behind varied events in the lives of philosophers。 Here we see the initial formation of the Vienna Circle， varied occurrences during the time of its existence （of course including Schlick's murder）， and also a peek into the members lives。。。 。。。more
Benjamin
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A good biography should have the same impact as a well-written novel。 One would assume that biographies would be more powerful because they are real， but often they are flat and little more than informative。 The best biographies build character and tension， and fill you with the same sadness as losing a beloved character at the end of your favourite movie when the subject of the book finally passes away。 "The Murder of Professor Schlick" balances the brooding drama of the rise of fascism and the A good biography should have the same impact as a well-written novel。 One would assume that biographies would be more powerful because they are real， but often they are flat and little more than informative。 The best biographies build character and tension， and fill you with the same sadness as losing a beloved character at the end of your favourite movie when the subject of the book finally passes away。 "The Murder of Professor Schlick" balances the brooding drama of the rise of fascism and the internal struggles within a group of similar but different intellectuals， with the thrills of wartime action movies and film noir。 There's comedy from the bluster of Wittgenstein and Popper， sadness as we see the likes of Godel and Zisel struggle with their health， and cameos by the world's leading thinkers。 The chapter chronicling the final fates of each member covered a spectrum of joy at them finding their happy ending， or indignation and mourning at their mistreatment by the world around them。 An accessible book for non-philosophers， and an entertaining read for those who know the thoughts but not the thinkers。 。。。more
Nat
，
One of the books that got me most excited about analytic philosophy as an undergrad was Janik and Toulmin's Wittgenstein's Vienna， and intellectual history of end of the century Vienna and the crazily rich philosophical， scientific， and artistic context that Wittgenstein grew up in。 This group biography captures the manic cultural and political excitement and upheaval in Vienna thirty years later that was the setting for the philosophy of the Vienna Circle。 Another book on the same topic， Exact One of the books that got me most excited about analytic philosophy as an undergrad was Janik and Toulmin's Wittgenstein's Vienna， and intellectual history of end of the century Vienna and the crazily rich philosophical， scientific， and artistic context that Wittgenstein grew up in。 This group biography captures the manic cultural and political excitement and upheaval in Vienna thirty years later that was the setting for the philosophy of the Vienna Circle。 Another book on the same topic， Exact Thinking in Demented Times， published a couple of years ago， focused more on the philosophical influence of Mach and Boltzmann （the previous generation of philosophical/scientific thinkers） on the circle。 What I enjoyed most about this group biography was tracking the circle's various paths in exile and the efforts to keep them afloat in their new academic positions in the UK and USA， like the Academic Assistance Council， which apparently still exists in some form:https://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Council。。。Neurath had the most dramatic escape， escaping Holland for Britain on a commandeered motorized lifeboat that threatened to sink on the channel crossing， and then spending time in a British internment camp。 After reading this I have even more sympathy for Waismann than I had before--I knew Wittgenstein treated him really badly， but he sounds like he had a miserable time teaching in the UK and his wife and son both committed suicide。 It will be a while before I return to teaching in person， but this anecdote about Gustav Bergmann makes me think I should adopt a more eccentric teaching style: "In seminars he was known to lie down on a central table， with a cigar in his mouth， spin around， and blow smoke at the person whose turn it was to speak" （p。 244）。I think this will be my last book of 2020 。。。more
Carl Marcus
，
Very Good Book on the Vienna CircleThis is an excellent book on the Vienna Circle and the people involved in it。 I found it better written and more objective than other books I’ve seen on the topic， although the author is a bit hard on Popper and might talk a bit more about Russell and why he was so beloved by the group。 My only objection is that I’ve have liked more on the actual philosophy。
Rene Stein
，
Atmosféra předválečné Vídně je před čtenářem evokována velmi přesvědčivě。 Mini profily členů Vídeňského kroužku jsou výborně napsané。 O roli Tess Simmonsové， která v organizaci Academic Assistance Council （AAC） pomohla členům Vídeňského kroužku， když odcházeli z Vídně， která po anšlusu zešílela， jsem nevěděl。 Není se čemu divit， že se členové Vídeňského kroužku do Rakouska už nikdy natrvalo nevrátili a i v dopisech， které si vyměňovali， místo němčiny používali angličtinu。"One of Bergmann’s stude Atmosféra předválečné Vídně je před čtenářem evokována velmi přesvědčivě。 Mini profily členů Vídeňského kroužku jsou výborně napsané。 O roli Tess Simmonsové， která v organizaci Academic Assistance Council （AAC） pomohla členům Vídeňského kroužku， když odcházeli z Vídně， která po anšlusu zešílela， jsem nevěděl。 Není se čemu divit， že se členové Vídeňského kroužku do Rakouska už nikdy natrvalo nevrátili a i v dopisech， které si vyměňovali， místo němčiny používali angličtinu。"One of Bergmann’s students recalled a conversation at the University of Iowa between Bergmann and a colleague who happened to mention he was flying to Vienna， “and Gustav said， ‘when you get there and get off the plane， kiss the ground for me， and then spit on it。’ Jak to bývá， mnohem později dříve nenáviděné Židy i ty， kdo se s nimi přátelili， Vídeň - nyní v konstrastu s kulturním významem v meziválečných letech už jen provinční hlavní město kdesi v Evropě- docenila。"The city from which the Circle members fled has been reclaiming it。 There’s a Kurt Gödel Research Center and most important， a Vienna Circle Institute， which was founded in 1991 to document and develop the Circle’s work。 Popper’s bust is now in the courtyard of the University of Vienna。 There’s a Karl Popper Strasse and a Dr。 Otto Neurath Gasse。 Tram D， on which Schlick commuted to the university， still follows the same route。 The beginning and end of his journey on 22 June 1936 are marked by plaques: one on the outside of 68 Prinz Eugen Strasse， the other at the spot at which he was shot。"To nejdůležitejší ale naštěstí není pohřbeno v názvech ulic， pomnících a směšných bustách。"On the whole， their message to their students remained steady: that science was good and metaphysics was bad。 As Neurath put it to Feigl in 1938， “what we have in common will remain; as products of their time， the differences will fade。”18 Nothing fortified old bonds more than mention of Heidegger’s name。 “One has to read Heidegger in the original to see what a swindler he was，” said Popper。 His philosophy was “empty verbiage put together in statements which are absolutely empty。”19 On this even Carnap—not Popper’s biggest fan—concurred。""Beyond this， there is the way the Circle shaped the practice of philosophy， particularly Anglo-American philosophy。 It is easy to overstate the gap between analytic and continental philosophy， but by any reasonable understanding of analytic philosophy， the Circle is part of its DNA。 Analytic philosophy has gone in various directions that the Circle would not approve。 But the self-identifying merits of analytic philosophy are its meticulous attention to logic and language and the pursuit of clarity， the contempt for grandiosity， and the calling-out of nonsense。 There is a suspicion of arguments that rely on “feel” or “intuition” over substance。 The Circle was not unique in promoting these intellectual virtues， but they helped foster a climate in which they are now so much taken for granted that they are virtually invisible。 In that sense， success of the Circle ideas lies in their apparent absence。" 。。。more
Sorin Hadârcă
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Excellent book。 Not only it spoke of hard-boiled philosophical concepts in clear English， but also redeemed Vienna as an interesting milieu for further exploration。 Vienna in the 20s and 30s seem like a hot potato in terms of things cultural: music， painting， architecture， literature and。。。 God given philosophy！
Christian Williams
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I intended to enjoy this book， which aims to bring alive the Vienna Circle of eccentric philosophers whose foray into formal logic and science dominated 20th Century inquiry。 The cast is wonderful--B。 Russell， Carnap， Wittgenstein， Heidegger， Popper， A。J。 "Freddy" Ayer， GE Moore， all the regular guys you'd want to watch a football game with， and with whom Monty Python did， come to think of it。 Oh well。 Hard story to tell， I guess。 But why so hard？ Why so meandering， disorganized， subject to tang I intended to enjoy this book， which aims to bring alive the Vienna Circle of eccentric philosophers whose foray into formal logic and science dominated 20th Century inquiry。 The cast is wonderful--B。 Russell， Carnap， Wittgenstein， Heidegger， Popper， A。J。 "Freddy" Ayer， GE Moore， all the regular guys you'd want to watch a football game with， and with whom Monty Python did， come to think of it。 Oh well。 Hard story to tell， I guess。 But why so hard？ Why so meandering， disorganized， subject to tangents and well worn context of Jews-in-peril-in 30s Germany？ （They weren't all Jews， and I don;t think any of them suffered more than career setbacks， compared to the murder of millions）。 Oh， and how can the best stuff get glossed over， such as their philosophical systems？ Too hard to understand？ Writing down to readers of books about philosophers？ Oh dear， I wish to stop but can't。 Some giant marketing brain titled this "The Murder of Professor Schlick。" They might have let the author know， since the book is not a mystery story and Schlick's death is as irrelevant to the ideas of the Vienna Circle as Wyatt Earp's。 Princeton University press， are you kiddin' me？ Get an editor。 I'll stop now so this doesn't become a negative review。 "The author's heart is in the right place。" 0 。。。more
Herb
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Not a lot to do with the murder， but very good nonetheless。 The story of the Logical Positivists' group of philosophers of Math & Science in Austria/Germany before WWII。 Edmonds is an excellent "popularizer" of Philosophy。 Well written an entertaining， as well as educational。 Not a lot to do with the murder， but very good nonetheless。 The story of the Logical Positivists' group of philosophers of Math & Science in Austria/Germany before WWII。 Edmonds is an excellent "popularizer" of Philosophy。 Well written an entertaining， as well as educational。 。。。more
michael locke
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In so far as logical positivism is ever going to be amusing， The Murder of Professor Schlick meets the challenge。 David Edmonds tells a superbly illuminating and mostly entertaining story of the Vienna Circle。 He takes the reader carefully though its social， intellectual and political history， featuring enviable philosophical seminars and coffee-house conversations through to the horrors of the later 1930s， the anti-Semitism and Nazi takeover， and the flight of the Circle's members to the UK and In so far as logical positivism is ever going to be amusing， The Murder of Professor Schlick meets the challenge。 David Edmonds tells a superbly illuminating and mostly entertaining story of the Vienna Circle。 He takes the reader carefully though its social， intellectual and political history， featuring enviable philosophical seminars and coffee-house conversations through to the horrors of the later 1930s， the anti-Semitism and Nazi takeover， and the flight of the Circle's members to the UK and USA。 You could read it as a clear introduction to the philosophical issues of logical positivism or as a holiday read with a cast of extraordinary characters。 。。。more
Sankar Krishnan
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