[Iris] THE GEORG HENRIK VON WRIGHT,LECTURE 2023

Prof. Friedrich Stadler (University of Vienna): “Georg Henrik von Wright and Austrian Philosophy – Personal and Intellectual Encounters with Family Resemblances” Kirkkokatu 6, 00170 Helsinki, October 20th 2023, 15.15-17.00 (3.15-5 pm). Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLqQQsCi68E Georg Henrik von Wright acknowledged Eino Kaila and Ludwig Wittgenstein as pivotal to his philosophical growth, reflecting his deep engagement with Austrian philosophy from Mach to the Vienna Circle. His connection with Wittgenstein, both as successor and literary heir, strongly shaped his intellectual path. However, this should not overshadow his individual accomplishments in fields like induction, deontic logic, and ethics. His interactions with Austrian thinkers fit within the framework of “Austrian Philosophy,” which potentially would have led him to study under Viktor Kraft in Vienna instead of Cambridge if not for WWII. In this lecture von Wright’s intellectual journey from pre-war Vienna to the end of the 20th century will be illustrated, involving encounters with the Vienna Circle and the Wittgenstein community in Austria. At the end the question is raised whether Georg Henrik von Wright was a typical analytic philosopher. Professor Friedrich Stadler Friedrich Stadler is retired Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Vienna and is currently Permanent Fellow at the Institute Vienna Circle, which he founded and headed until 2018. He also acts as director of the Vienna Circle Society and as member of the Commission for History and Philosophy of Science at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He is the author of books on Ernst Mach and the Vienna Circle, editor and co-editor of a book series covering Logical Empiricism, history and philosophy of science, analytic philosophy, modern intellectual history and more. He has served as President of the European Philosophy of Science Association and of the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society.