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.