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CfP: SI on Logical Empiricism and Austrian Economics

by Alexander Linsbichler

*Call for Papers* *Studies in History and Philosophy of Science* *Special Issue: Adverse Allies: Hidden Harmonies Between Logical Empiricism and Austrian Economics* Logical empiricism and Austrian economics are arguably the two internationally most influential intellectual movements with Viennese roots. The Vienna Circle and the Viennese School of economics have shaped the world-wide development of philosophical, methodological, scientific, and political debate. Yet, despite numerous connections and interactions between the two movements, their relationship has captured surprisingly sparse attention in historical and philosophical scholarship. If an account is provided at all, logical empiricists and Austrian economists are portrayed as philosophically, scientifically, and politically antithetical groups. Recent scholarship has challenged this received view of opposition by reconstructing hitherto neglected compatibilities and similarities between the two movements. This special issue collects historical as well as systematic contributions that highlight and discuss hidden harmonies between logical empiricism and Austrian economics while acknowledging remaining disagreements. Contributions that fruitfully inform contemporary debates in philosophy, methodology, politics, or the sciences are particularly welcome. Deadline for Submissions: 30.11.2025 You can find more information on the special issue here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/325033/adverse-allies-hidden-ha… Workshop Adverse Allies I in Vienna (February 2025): https://homepage.univie.ac.at/alexander.linsbichler/?p=176 Workshop Adverse Allies II in Linz (September 2025, registration for online participation closes 19.09.2025): https://www.jku.at/institut-fuer-philosophie-und-wissenschaftstheorie/adver… *Alexander Linsbichler* Institute of Philosophy and Scientific Method (Johannes Kepler University Linz) alexander.linsbichler(a)jku.at Department of Philosophy ( <https://ufind.univie.ac.at/de/person.html?id=47545>University of Vienna) <https://ufind.univie.ac.at/de/person.html?id=47545> alexander.linsbichler(a)univie.ac.at *neu erschienen: Viel mehr <https://www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/detail/index/sArticle/57805/sC…>als nur <https://www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/detail/index/sArticle/57805/sC…>Ökonomie <https://www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/detail/index/sArticle/57805/sC…> (Böhlau, 2022)*

3 weeks

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REMINDER - Talk by Kelli Barr - "The Material Theory of Values in Science"

by Veronika Lassl

Dear all, this is to remind you of the talk being held Kelli Barr entitled "The Material Theory of Values in Science" this week. When? Tuesday, 19.08.2025, 4:45pm - 6:15pm Where? Room 3C, NIG Universitätsstaße 7, 1010 Wien Zoom Link: https://univienna.zoom.us/j/68261699318?pwd=GNjaMAgSHyFxLpbRHNfmeZ5DFme6aw.1 Meeting ID: 682 6169 9318 Passcode: 976552 Abstract How are we to understand situations where science fails on its own terms? For example, Scientists have blamed perverse incentives for systematic epistemic failures like non-replicability and publication bias, but the exact relationship remains an open question. Let's assume they are right to blame the (social) system. This paper presents a novel framework for understanding how features of the social organization of science are implicated in collective epistemic failures: the material theory of values in science (MTV). This project is inspired by and follows in the tradition of feminist philosophers of science who have called attention to the need for explanations of systemic, specifically antifeminist, biases in science and for embodied models of scientists as epistemic agents. In the first part, I discuss the replication crisis as involving a particular type of collective action problem: a no-win standoff. The next part introduces the MTV and the explanation it supplies for this phenomenon. In the third section, the MTV is compared to several alternative explanatory strategies, including from the contemporary literature values in science and social epistemology, specifically agent-based computational models. I argue for why my approach is preferable and describe an important revision it entails for the general Mertonian sociological picture invoked in discussions of incentives in science. Kind regards, Veronika Lassl Chairperson - Vienna Forum for Analytic Philosophy wfap.philo.at

1 month

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Invitation - Talk by Kelli Barr on August 19th - "The Material Theory of Values in Science"

by Veronika Lassl

Dear all, the WFAP warmly invites you to join a talk to be held by Kelli R. Barr (PhD) from the University of California, Davis, in two weeks. The title of the talk is "The Material Theory of Values in Science". When? Tuesday, 19.07.2025, 4:45pm - 6:15pm Where? Room 3C, NIG Universitätsstaße 7, 1010 Wien Please send an e-mail to veronika.lassl(a)univie.ac.at for the Zoom link, should you wish to listen in online. Abstract How are we to understand situations where science fails on its own terms? For example, Scientists have blamed perverse incentives for systematic epistemic failures like non-replicability and publication bias, but the exact relationship remains an open question. Let's assume they are right to blame the (social) system. This paper presents a novel framework for understanding how features of the social organization of science are implicated in collective epistemic failures: the material theory of values in science (MTV). This project is inspired by and follows in the tradition of feminist philosophers of science who have called attention to the need for explanations of systemic, specifically antifeminist, biases in science and for embodied models of scientists as epistemic agents. In the first part, I discuss the replication crisis as involving a particular type of collective action problem: a no-win standoff. The next part introduces the MTV and the explanation it supplies for this phenomenon. In the third section, the MTV is compared to several alternative explanatory strategies, including from the contemporary literature values in science and social epistemology, specifically agent-based computational models. I argue for why my approach is preferable and describe an important revision it entails for the general Mertonian sociological picture invoked in discussions of incentives in science. Kind regards, Veronika Lassl Chairperson - Vienna Forum for Analytic Philosophy wfap.philo.at

1 month, 2 weeks

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History of Economic Thought and Methodology: A Joint Workshop at the University of Vienna (05.09.2025)

by Dahyun Lee

This pluralistic joint seminar is organized by the University of Vienna, Johannes Kepler University Linz, and Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan). It aims to foster meaningful intellectual exchange among scholars, master's, and PhD students across national and disciplinary borders. By bringing together students and scholars from the Philosophy and Economics program in Vienna and the Faculty of Economics at Doshisha, the seminar provides a platform for critical engagement with a plurality of methodologies in the history of political economy. By exploring differences in economic and philosophical ideas, the seminar encourages dialogue that bridges different academic traditions and perspectives. This joint seminar particularly investigates pluralism in the history of economic thought, economic methodology, and philosophy of science. Guests are welcome. Date: Friday 05.09.2025 Time: 09:00 – 18:10 Place: University of Vienna, Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1, 2nd floor, Seminarraum 13 (in person) Organisers: Dahyun Lee, Alexander Linsbichler, Karl Milford Keynote Speakers: Takato Kasai (Doshisha University, Kyoto), Julian Reiss (Johannes Kepler University Linz) Further Speakers: Lara Brühl, Vinzenz Fischer, Jakob Gschwandtner, Dahyun Lee, Alexander Linsbichler, Taiki Nakao, Pauline Paulik, Shintaro Wada https://homepage.univie.ac.at/alexander.linsbichler/ Kind regards, Dahyun Lee MA Philosophy and Economics, University of Vienna

1 month, 3 weeks

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IVC Talk: Luana Poliseli (IVC Fellow) on "The Left Vienna Circle, Democratization of Knowledge and the Epistemic Functions of Aesthetics", July 3, 4.45 pm

by Zarah Weiss

Dear all, our next speaker in the Philosophy of Science Colloquium organized by the Institute Vienna Circle is Luana Poliseli (IVC Fellow), who will give a talk on July 3, 4.45-6.15 pm. All are welcome! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Philosophy of Science Colloquium TALK: Luana Poliseli (IVC Fellow) THE LEFT VIENNA CIRCLE, DEMOCRATIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE EPISTEMIC FUNCTIONS OF AESTHETICS Philosophy of Science Colloquium The Institute Vienna Circle holds a Philosophy of Science Colloquium with talks by our present fellows. Date: 03/07/2025 Time: 16h45 Venue: New Institute Building (NIG), Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Wien, HS 3A Abstract: Aesthetics is traditionally associated with the appreciation of beauty. In science, beauty is traditionally and largely related to the success of a theory or an experiment (McAllister 1996). However, recent debates on the aesthetics of science have indicated that the scientists' aesthetics arsenal is far more diverse and epistemically advantageous than traditionally conceived (see Ivanova & French 2020; Ivanova & Murphy 2023). I undertake these debates to argue against the traditional oversimplification as it does not represent the complexity of aesthetic values and experiences used in contemporary science to explain and understand the world. By expanding the philosophical account of aesthetics in science, this project challenges reductive views of science as purely logical or objective. I second the Left Vienna Circle on the ambiguities and lack of homogeneity in knowledge, and the recognition of the limited resources of human cognitive capacities. Acknowledging the plurality and vagueness of our cognitive endeavours make us conscious of the limitations, gaps and ambiguities existent in scientific practices. As such, I will emphasize that scientific knowledge is not only shaped by empirical and theoretical considerations but also by the sensuous, affective, and interpretive dimensions of aesthetic experiences. Ultimately, by unboxing unorthodox methods underlying scientific decisions, I reposition aesthetics as central to reflections of scientific practice and knowledge production, enabling philosophers to reconceptualize the epistemic functions of aesthetics as a means of enriching scientific resources. If science, as a social and cultural phenomenon, seeks to make sense of a world that is chaotic, political, diffuse, emotional, ephemeral and transient, then it must begin to embrace and engage with non-traditional methods and values that reflect this diversity. By doing so, it can foster the creation of spaces for development and dissemination that are more democratic and inclusive.

2 months, 2 weeks

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Invitation: "Filtering Truth - 14th WFAP Graduate Conference on Epistemic Bubbles, Echo Chambers and the Spread of Misinformation"

by Veronika Lassl

Dear all, the Vienna Forum for Analytic Philosophy (WFAP) is hosting its annual graduate conference in the first week of July and warmly invites you all to participate! The title of this year's conference is "Filtering Truth: A Graduate Conference on Epistemic Bubbles, Echo Chambers and the Spread of Misinformation". It focuses on philosophical challenges raised by socio-epistemic structures that systematically act as "filters" in the transmission of truth. Here are the details of the conference at a glance: Dates: 3-5 July, 2025 Venue: Room 3D, NIG, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna AND via Zoom (for link see below) Keynotes: Keith Harris (University of Vienna) Giulia Napolitano (Erasmus University Rotterdam) Megan Fritts (University of Arkansas, Little Rock) Benjamin Elzinga (Georgetown University) To view the program and the abstracts for the talk, visit: https://wfap.philo.at/conferences/14th-wfap-graduate-conference/ [1] To receive the Zoom access details or to ask questions about the conference, contact: filteringtruth(a)gmail.com We are looking forward to seeing you at our event! Kind regards, Veronika Lassl (Chair, WFAP) Links: ------ [1] https://wfap.philo.at/conferences/14th-wfap-graduate-conference/

2 months, 3 weeks

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Invitation: Trans*Formations talk by Prof. Emma Heaney, 26.6.

by Flora Löffelmann

Dear all, It is my pleasure to cordially invite you to the next installment of the Trans*Formation Talk Series at the Department of Philosophy at University of Vienna, which showcases exciting new developments in Trans Philosophy. This Thursday, 26.6., Prof. Emma Heaney from NYU will give the talk "Provincializing Cisness" at 19:30 in HS 3A, NIG. Everyone is welcome! Please also forward this invite to others who might be interested! Abstract: Most examinations of sex and gender in the academy take bourgeois national histories of North America and Western Europe as their frame of reference. In the histories of Germany, the UK, France, and the United States, doctors and state bureaucracies incorporated sexual and gendered social practices into a taxonomy of identities (or even species, as Foucault puts it,) beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. However, in many sex-gender systems, including those of the proletarian neighborhoods of these nations' metropoles, the assumptions that formed expert orderings did not apply. This lecture surveys the non-cis vernacular categories that ordered these sex-gender systems. The relation between race/class and cisness means that there is no absolute geography to this story. Drawing on source material from Indigenous Americas to the South Asian subcontinent and from the working-class neighborhoods of Kansas City to the courts of Nigerian nobility, the talk will be attuned to a range of sex-gender systems that do not accord with the categories produced by the Euro- American bourgeois in order to, as the title suggests, reveal the provincial status of cisness. The talk will be in English with ÖGS translation. Bio: Emma Heaney is a scholar and teacher of feminist theory, comparative literature, and trans studies. Her first book, _The New Woman: Literary Modernism, Queer Theory, and the Trans Feminine Allegory [1] _(Northwestern 2017) is a study of the prominence of the medicalized figure of trans femininity in works of twentieth-century literature and philosophy. Her edited collection _Feminism Against Cisness _ [2](Duke 2024) gathers essays that demonstrate the nature and potential of feminist thought unobscured by the counterrevolutionary mystification of assigned sex. _This Watery Place: Four Essays on Gestation [3] --- _a political and phenomenological report from the gestational sensorium against cisness, capital, and genocide --- is forthcoming from Pluto Press in November 2025. Her current book project is a sequel edited collection that draws on the work of scholars from many disciplines and areas of geographical and historical focus to reveal the provincial nature of the ideology of cisness. Forthcoming essays theorize the emergence of the trans-gay distinction in the twentieth century via literary representations. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the XE program at New York University, where she serves as faculty advisor for the Advanced Certificate in Experimental Writing. I want to thank the VDP [4], the Culture & Equality Unit [5] of the University of Vienna, queer@hochschulen [6], and ACCESTECH / TU Wien [7] for their financial support dor this event. Looking forward to seeing many of you at the talk! All the best, Flora Löffelmann -- Flora Löffelmann, MA MA University assistant & doctoral candidate Department of Philosophy at University of Vienna Pronouns: they/them (for more info see: https://www.mypronouns.org/what-and-why/) Happy about a gender neutral "hello"! Links: ------ [1] https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv47w5mz [2] https://www.dukeupress.edu/feminism-against-cisness [3] https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745350158/this-watery-place/ [4] https://vd-philosophy.univie.ac.at/ [5] https://personalwesen.univie.ac.at/en/culture-equality/ [6] https://queer-at-hochschulen.org/ [7] https://www.experiencing-access.eu/de/news/

2 months, 3 weeks

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IVC Talk: Korbinian Friedl (IVC Fellow) on "Leitgeb’s new verifiability criterion, probability, and thick concepts", June 26, 5.30 pm

by Zarah Weiss

Dear all, our next speaker in the Philosophy of Science Colloquium organized by the Institute Vienna Circle is Korbinian Friedl (IVC Fellow), who will give a talk on June 26, 5.30-7 pm. Please note that this talk is later than usually! All are welcome! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Philosophy of Science Colloquium TALK: Korbinian Friedl (IVC Fellow) LEITGEB’S NEW VERIFIABILITY CRITERION, PROBABILITY, AND THICK CONCEPTS Philosophy of Science Colloquium The Institute Vienna Circle holds a Philosophy of Science Colloquium with talks by our present fellows. Date: 26/06/2025 Time: 17h30 Venue: New Institute Building (NIG), Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Wien, HS 3A Abstract: Hannes Leitgeb's recent paper "Vindicating the Verifiability Criterion" presents a new attempt at drawing out the exact sense in which (something like) verifiability is properly seen as the arbiter of meaningfulness. He proposes a parametrized, probabilistic verifiability criterion "scheme". As one of the advantages of his new criterion, compared to the "original" verifiability criterion, he advertises its greater flexibility, and the ability to account for, and make explicit (in terms of different parametrizations), the different ways in which certain statements can be meaningful for different communities. The talk will present Leitgeb's ideas and raise to questions for them:1. One issue with the original criterion is the strong dichotomy between fact and value it entrenches, which e.g. Putnam argues makes it impossible for it to account for the specific way in which Thick Ethical Concepts are meaningful. Does the greater flexibility of Leitgeb's criterion allow it to give a satisfying account of judgments involving such terms?2. How does Leitgeb's probabilistic criterion interact with different concepts of probability? Are there specific requirements on a concept of probability which are necessary for the criterion to achieve its semantic bite?

2 months, 3 weeks

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Workshop: Logical Empiricism and American Pragmatism on Values and Democracy | June 15-17

by Zarah Weiss

Workshop: Logical Empiricism and American Pragmatism on Values and Democracy June 15 (afternoon), 16, & 17, 2025. University of Vienna Venue: SR 3A (Neues Institutsgebäude, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna) No registration needed. Everyone is invited to attend. Sunday, June 15 14:0015:00 Christian Damböck (University of Vienna): Toward a Shift in Narrative: Carnap, Dewey, and Lewis on Values and Practical Decisions. 15:3016:30 Sander Verhaegh (Tilburg University): Pragmatism and Logical Empiricism on Values: A Cultural Analysis 17:0018:00 Christoph Limbeck-Lilienau (University of Vienna): Dewey versus Stevenson on Values 18:3019:30 Cheryl Misak (University of Toronto): The Battle over Value: Dewey and the Unity of Science Monday, June 16 10:00-11:00 Thomas Uebel (University of Manchester): The Scientific World-Conception Reconstituted and Compared with Dewey's Theory of Valuation 11:3012:30 Claudia Cristalli (Tilburg University): Being "of service to man in his characteristic activity as a valuer": the scientific study of values in Charles W. Morris 14:3015:30 Roberto Gronda (University of Pisa): Abraham Kaplan and the American axiological tradition 16:0017:00 Lucas Baccarat (University of Vienna): Bentley and Neurath on Experience 17:3018:30 Alan Richardson (University of British Columbia): Pluralisms in the US 1900-1950 and Horace Kallen's criticism of Neurath Tuesday, June 17 10:00-11:00 Georg Schiemer (University of Vienna): Carnap and Kelsen's Pure Theory of Law 11:3012:30 Flavia Padovani (Drexel University): Hans Reichenbach and C.I. Lewis on the pragmatic a priori 14:3015:30 Friedrich Stadler (University of Vienna): Harvard 1939: The Interaction of European and American Pragmatism 16:0017:00 Matthias Neuber (University of Mainz): Philipp Frank on Values, Democracy, and the "Humanistic Background of Science" 17:3018:30 Adam Tuboly (Hungarian Academy of Science): From General Education in a Free Society to Science in a Free Society: Nagel, Kuhn, and Feyerabend While previous research at the Institute Vienna Circle has focused mainly on the encounters between American pragmatism and logical empiricism in the European context in the decades before and after 1900, this workshop will be devoted to developments in the United States between the 1930s and 1960s. In addition, the workshop will focus on the philosophy of values, law, and democracy as developed in the exchanges and sometimes conflicts between key members of the logical empiricist movement, including Rudolf Carnap, Otto Neurath, Hans Reichenbach, and Hans Kelsen, on the one hand, and pragmatists such as C.I. Lewis, John Dewey, Ernest Nagel, Abraham Kaplan, and Charles Morris, on the other. Here, broad agreement on the understanding of science and democracy is accompanied by sometimes sharp disagreement on the philosophy of values, more precisely, the tension between non-cognitivism and verificationism regarding values. The aim of this workshop is not only to reconstruct these tensions, but also to contextualize them historically, to try to resolve them systematically, and to build bridges to the contemporary discourse on the philosophy of law, politics, and deliberative democracy. On the other side of the political spectrum, the liberal discourse in the US is compared to the fascist discourse on politics and law as it developed in Europe, and in particular in Nazi Germany. Literature: Christian Damböck (2025), "Noncognitive Deliberation. The Political Legacy of Logical Empiricism", Erkenntnis. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-024-00911-7> https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-024-00911-7 David Dyzenhaus (2023), The Long Arc of Legality. Hobbes, Kelsen, Hart, CUP. Christoph Limbeck-Lilienau (2010), "Rudolf Carnap und die Philosophie in Amerika. Logischer Empirismus, Pragmatismus, Realismus", Friedrich Stadler (ed.): Vertreibung, Transformation und Rückkehr der Wissenschaftstheorie, Lit Verlag, 85-164. Giovanni Maddalena and Friedrich Stadler (eds.) (2019), European Pragmatism, in: European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, <https://doi.org/10.4000/ejpap.1459> https://doi.org/10.4000/ejpap.1459. Cheryl Misak (2000), Truth, Politics, Morality. Pragmatism and Deliberation, Routledge. Cheryl Misak (2015), The American Pragmatists, OUP. Sami Pihlström, Friedrich Stadler, and Niels Weidtmann (eds.) (2017), Logical Empiricism and Pragmatism, Springer. George Reisch (2005), How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of Science. To the Icy Slopes of Logic, CUP. Alan Richardson (2003), "Logical Empiricism, American Pragmatism, and the Fate of Scientific Philosophy in North America", Gary Hardcastle and Alan Richardson (eds.), Logical Empiricism in North America, University of Minnesota Press, 1-24. Alan Richardson (2007), "Carnapian Pragmatism", Michael Friedman and Richard Creath (eds.): The Cambridge Companion to Carnap, CUP, 295-315. Thomas Uebel (2015), "American Pragmatism and the Vienna Circle: The Early Years", JHAP 3:3, 1-35. Sander Verhaegh (2020), "Coming to America: Carnap, Reichenbach and the Great Intellectual Migration. Part I: Rudolf Carnap/Part II: Hans Reichenbach", JHAP 8:11, 1-47. Organizers: Lucas Baccarat, Christian Damböck, and Christoph Limbeck-Lilienau Hosts: Institute Vienna Circle, Vienna Circle Society Language: English

3 months, 1 week

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Workshop 13-14 June: On Writing About Philosopher’s Lives

by Zarah Weiss

You are cordially invited to the upcoming workshop at the Institute Vienna Circle: Life and Work: On Writing About Philosopher’s Lives 13-14 June 2025 Room 3A Neues Institutsgebäude (NIG), Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Wien How do we write about the lives of philosophers, and what brings us to write and read philosophical biographies? Throughout its history, the discipline of philosophy was shaped by human interaction and personal experience as much as by hard thinking of individuals interacting with the world solely through written word. Trends in intellectual migration (or lack thereof) led to differences between philosophical traditions of different countries. There are multiple examples of friendships and personal networks enabling philosophers to flourish intellectually and in their careers; personal conflicts and character clashes could also nearly break said careers. In the relatively recent past, we have seen women enter academic philosophy, sometimes bringing with them perspectives and insights born directly from their personal experience. Their lives as women and their academic careers were inextricably linked. This kind of research and writing becomes particularly relevant when philosophy becomes interested in its history not only from a purely conceptual perspective, but as a history of its people and institutions, which existed in a particular time and place. The practice of biographical writing can both result from such interest, and help satisfy it. The workshop is organised by the MSCA Project "What was and what could have been: Janina Hosiasson-Lindenbaum’s role in the philosophy of probability", led by Marta Sznajder Programme Friday, 13 June 9:45 Welcome and introduction 10:00 -11:00 Christian Damböck, Rudolf Carnap in Chicago. The transformation of antimetaphysics 11:30 – 12:30 Patricia Grill, “Revered Miss”: Otto Neurath’s Early Letters and Reflections on Ellen Key 14:30 – 15:30 Matteo Collodel, False Memories and True Lies: Personal, institutional and philosophical issues in intellectual biography writing – The case of Paul K. Feyerabend 16:00 – 17:00 Zofia Hałęza, Philosophy beyond the text: women as architects of intellectual space Saturday, 14 June 10:00 – 11:00 Sophia Connell, Early analytic women philosophers in Cambridge 11:30 – 12:30 Alan Richardson, When is biography philosophical? Lessons from the life of Hans Reichenbach 14:30 – 15:30 Cheryl Misak, Incorporating Technical Material in an Intellectual Biography 16:00 – 18:00 Marta Sznajder, From a bag of facts to a narrative – Workshopping the biography of Janina Hosiason-Lindenbaum ---- Marta Sznajder Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow Institute Vienna Circle University of Vienna www.martasznajder.com <http://www.martasznajder.com> marta.sznajder(a)univie.ac.at <mailto:marta.sznajder@univie.ac.at>

3 months, 1 week

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