Hans Reichenbach

Born in Hamburg, Germany

Sep 26, 1891

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCA1rDz2AEs Reichenbach was the second of four children of a half-Jewish but baptized father and a non-Jewish mother.

Received degree in philosophy

1915

from the University at Erlangen. Among his teachers were the neo-Kantian philosopher Ernst Cassirer, the mathematician David Hilbert, and the physicists Max Planck, Max Born and Albert Einstein.

Published: Theory of probability

1916

Ph.D. dissertation

University reform

1918

Reichenback was active in student organizations and published articles about university reform, the freedom of research, and against anti-Semitic infiltration in university organization His brother was a member of the German Communist Workers Party.

Berlin Socialist Student Party

1918

Became a member of the Berlin Socialist Student Party.

Albert Einstein

1919

In 1919, Reichenbach started attending lectures by Albert Einstein. He then stopped participating in political groups. At that time Reichenbach chose the theory of relativity as the first subject for his own philosophical research.

Published: The theory of relativity and a priori knowledge.

1920

Einstein's lectures on relativity and statistical mechanics, which influenced him profoundly, and inaugurated a life-long friendship between the two men. He wrote several popular articles defending Einstein, especially in the context of the observations of the solar eclipse of 1919 confirming the predictions of the general theory of relativity.

Teaching

1920

In 1920, Reichenbach began teaching at the Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart as a instructor in physics, and eventually associate professor.

Marriage and children

1920

Reichenbach married Elizabeth Lingener and they had two children, Hans Galama in 1922 and Jutta in 1924.

Humboldt University in Berlin

1926

Reichenbach began teaching at Humboldt University as an assistant professor in the physics department. His methods of teaching philosophy were something of a novelty; students found him easy to approach (this fact was uncommon in German universities); his courses were open to discussion and debate.

Berlin Circle

1928

In 1928, Reichenbach founded the Berlin Circle. The group was composed of philosophers and scientists. They were active in analyzing contemporary physics, especially the theory of relativity and in developing the frequency of interpretation of probability. Other members were: Carl Gustav Hempel, Richard von Mises, David Hilbert and Kurt Grelling. The group dispersed at the raise of the Nazis after most of the members left Germany.

Erkenntnis

1930

Together with members of the Vienna Circle, Reichenbach initiated the publication of the journal Erkenntnis in 1930 as a forum for scientific philosophy. Reichenbach and Carnap were the only editors after Schlick resigned. In addition, Reichenbach was a frequent contributor of popular essays and a regular radio lecturer on scientific topics.

Moved to Turkey

1933

Reichenbach moved to Turkey, where he became chief of the Department of Philosophy at the University at Istanbul. Reichenbach promoted a shift in philosophy courses; he introduced interdisciplinary seminars and courses on scientific subjects. As he was considered Jewish, leaving Germany was a good move. 32 other German professors, notably Richard von Mises, the mathematician whose views on probability must have influenced Reichenbach, and Erwin Freundlich moved to Turkey too.

Published: Experience and prediction: an analysis of the foundations and the structure of knowledge.

1938

He contributed significantly to logical interpretations of probability theories, theories of induction, and the philosophical bases of science.

Move to Los Angeles

1938

Reichenbach moved to Los Angeles where he became a professor at the University of California in the Philosophy Department. Some of his notable students where Carl Hempel, Hilary Putnam, and Wesley Salmon. At the university is also where Reichenback wrote his most famous books.

Published: Philosophic Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

1944

1944
University of California Press This book combines both the disciplines of the philosophical interpretation of quantum physics — an interpretation free from the imprecision of metaphysics, offering a view of the atomic world and its quantum mechanical results as concrete as the visible everyday world.

Published: Elements of Symbolic Logic

1947

1947, Dover

Published: The Rise of Scientific Philosophy

1951

1951, University of California Press In this book, Reichenbach presents a new approach to philosophy. He theorizes that philosophy is not a collection of systems, but a study of problems. He further links failures of the systems to psychological causes.

Died in Los Angles

Apr 9, 1953