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Vienna Circle
In 1926, Rudolf Carnap was offered to teach philosophy at Vienna University by Moritz Schlick, a fellow German philosopher and founder of the Vienna Circle. Carnap became part of the Vienna Circle where philosophers discussed ideas of logical positivism, now empiricism. The purpose of logical positivism was to find and produce meaningful philosophical questions through logical analysis. This way of thinking was more aligned with inductive reasoning to scientific inquiry. -
Publication of Aufbau
Translated to The Logical Structure of the World, was Carnap's original attempt to establish concepts of empirical science where conclusions are drawn from a certain degree of probability. This degree was a measurement of confirmation for inductive logic. He explained how science falls in frameworks, which can be created by asking "internal" and "external" questions. [Carnap, Rudolf, and Rudolf Carnap. The Logical Structure of the World: and, Pseudoproblems in Philosophy. Open Court, 2005. ] -
Logical Syntax of Language
His first publication of Aufbau explored the frameworks for which science was apart of. This book goes more in depth about the idea that in order for science to make logical sense with a high degree of certainty, was for there to be a single language for science. In other words, how to frame and articulate problems with respect to empiricism and mathematics. Also, how to unify science within a common language. [Carnap, Rudolf. The Logical Syntax of Language. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1937. ] -
Testability and Meaning
In Aufbau, Carnap displayed many statements of radical positivism that resulted in one-sided arguments of metaphysics being meaningless to the contribution of science. In this work, Carnap is more open to the idea that different language forms, including theoretical ones, are essential for confirmation. This then results in the debate of whether inductive and deductive reasoning is either analytical or syntactical. [Carnap, Rudolf. Testability and Meaning. Bobbs-Merrill, 1981. ] -
Introduction to Semantics
This publication is where Carnap expanded his idea that we can create our own formal languages through intension and extension, which are terms used to determine a term or concept's range of applicability. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8d6ccSx3y8&t=1398s Above is a helpful link that describes Carnap's thought process on semantics. [Carnap, Rudolf. Introduction to Semantics ; and, Formalization of Logic. Harvard University Press, 1959.] -
The Logic of Probability
Carnap now turns to the problems of inductive reasoning by addressing different perspectives on probability and confirmation. [CARNAP, Rudolf. Logical Foundations of Probability. University of Chicago Press, 1962. ] -
Rise of Analytics
Throughout the year, most of Carnap's publications were critiqued by another philosopher, Willard Quine. With Quine's works and the publication of Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of the Scientific Method, there were more analytical philosophers who resulted in the decline of logical positivism. But overall, Carnap's view of mathematics and logic as tools for the creation of a universal language in science is what helped scientists narrow down concepts to further investigate. -
Interview with Rudolf Carnap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27wrZpGZcBg&t=98s In this interview, Carnap explains in his own perspective how philosophy is used to progress science.