Timeline: Carl Gustav Hempel (1905 - 1997)

Jan 8, 1905

1905

Carl Gustav Hempel was born in Oranienburg, Germany on January 8, 1905. He was a German-born American philosopher, who was a prominent figure in the development of Logical Empericism. Fetzer, James, "Carl Hempel", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/hempel/.

1923

In 1923, Hempel was admitted at the University of Gottingen where he studied mathematics. During that time, Hempel was interested in Hilbert's program of proving the consistency of mathematics by means of elementary methods; finding mathematical logic are more interesting than traditional logic (Murzi). The year he transferred to University of Heidelberg and studied mathematics, physics, and philosophy.

1924

Hempel studied at Berlin where he met Reichenbach and attended his courses on mathematical logic, the philosophy of space and time, and the theory of probability (Murzi). Murzi, Mauro. “Carl Gustav Hempel (1905—1997).” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://iep.utm.edu/hempel/.

1929

Hempel took part in the first congress on the scientific philosophy organized by logical positivist and from here he met Carnap (Murzi). Interested in Carnap, Hempel moved to Vienna and studied with Carnap, Mortiz Schlick, and Frederick Waismann. There they took part in meetings of the Vienna Circle (Fetzer).

1934

In 1934, Hempel gained his doctorate in philosophy at Berlin with his dissertation on the theory of probability under the supervision of Hans Reichenbach. In the same time, Hempel and his wife Eva Ahrends moved to Brussels, Belgium with the help of Reichenbac's friend, Paul Oppenheim (Carl G. Hempel: Philosophy) . “Carl G. Hempel | Philosophy.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, https://philosophy.princeton.edu/about/great-and-good/carl-g-hempel.

1942

In 1942, Hempel published "The Function of General Laws in History," explains that "history is concerned with the description of particular events of the past rather than with the search for general laws which might govern those events" ( Hempel). Hempel, Carl G. “The Function of General Laws in History.” The Journal of Philosophy, vol. 39, no. 2, 1942, pp. 35–48. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2017635. Accessed 9 Jul. 2022.

1945

In 1945, he published "Studies in the Logic of Confirmation." He sought to describe the conditions under which particular reports of observation may be said to confirm general hypothesis (Princeton). “Princeton - News - Philosopher of Science Carl G. Hempel Dies.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, https://pr.princeton.edu/news/97/q4/1112-hempel.html.

1948

In 1948, Hempel published "Studies in the Logic of Explanation" with Paul Oppenheim (Murzi). Instead of asking "why" something relates to our experiences in the world, it is replaced with the question of "what."

1995

1965-1966

In 1965, Hempel published some of his most influential scholarly writings, Aspects of Scientific Explanation and Other Essays in the Philosophy of Science (Princeton). This was followed with the release of his textbook, Philosophy of Natural Science (Princeton).