Difference between revisions of "Carl Gustav Hempel" - New World Encyclopedia

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Carl Gustav Hempel (born January 8, 1905, in Oranienburg, Germany; died November 9, 1997, in Princeton, New Jersey) was a philosopher of science and a major figure in 20th-century logical positivism. He is especially well-known for his defense of the Deductive-nomological model of scientific explanation and for his work on the Raven paradox.

Biography

Hempel studied first at the Realgymnasium in Berlin. In 1923 he was admitted to the University of Göttingen, where he studied mathematics with David Hilbert and ssymbolic logic with Henirich Heinrich Behmann. He was especially impressed with Hilbert's effort to base mathematics on a solid logical foundation by deriving it from a limited number of axioms; this attempt is known as(Hilbert's Program).

Also in 1923 Hempel moved to the University of Heidelberg, where he studied mathematics, physics, and philosophy. From 1924 he studied at the University of Berlin where he met Hans Reichenbach, who introduced him to the Berlin Circle of philosophers. Hempel attended Reichenbach's courses. He also studied physics with Max Planck and logic with John von Neumann. In 1929 Hempel participated in the first conference on

Having moved to Berlin he participated in a congress on scientific philosophy in 1929, where he met Rudolf Carnap. Enthusiastic about Carnap's work, Hempel moved to Vienna and became part of the Vienna Circle. In 1934 he received his doctoral degree from the University of Berlin with a dissertation on probability theory.

The same year he fled the increasingly repressive Germany and emigrated to Belgium with the help of Paul Oppenheim, with whom he co-authored the book "Der Typusbegriff im Lichte der neuen Logik" on typology and logics in 1936. In 1937 Hempel emigrated to the US where he accepted a position as Carnap's assistant at the University of Chicago. Subsequently he held positions at New York's City College of New York (1939-1948), Yale University (1948-1955), and Princeton University where he taught alongside Thomas Kuhn, and stayed until he was given emeritus status in 1964. As an emeritus he spent the years from 1964-1966 at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and taught at the University of Pittsburgh until 1985.

He never embraced the term "logical positivism" as an accurate description of the Vienna Circle and Berlin Group in which he had participated during the years between the World Wars, preferring to describe those philosophers, and himself, as "logical empiricists."

In 2005 the City of Oranienburg renamed a street to "Carl-Gustav-Hempel-Straße".

Bibliography

Main Works:

1936 Über den Gehalt von Wahrscheinlichkeitsaussagen
1936 Der Typusbegriff im Licht der neuen Logik, mit Paul Oppenheim
1942 The Function of General Laws in History
1943 Studies in the Logic of Confirmation
1950 "Problems and Changes in the Empiricist Criterion of Meaning," 11 Review International de Philosophy 41, pp. 41 - 63.
1959 The Logic of Functional Analysis
1965 Aspects of Scientific Explanation
1966 Philosophy of Natural Science,
1967 Scientific Explanation
2000 Selected Philosophical Essays
2001 The Philosophy of Carl G. Hempel: Studies in Science, Explanation, and Rationality

External links

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 ==Biography==
+Hempel studied first at the Realgymnasium in Berlin. In 1923 he was admitted to the University of Göttingen, where he studied mathematics with David Hilbert and ssymbolic logic with Henirich Heinrich Behmann. He was especially impressed with Hilbert's effort to base mathematics on a solid logical foundation by deriving it from a limited number of axioms; this attempt is known as([[Hilbert's Program]]).
-Hempel studied mathematics, physics, and philosophy at the University of Göttingen, University of Heidelberg, and University of Berlin. In Göttingen he encountered [[David Hilbert]] and was impressed by his attempt to base all of mathematics on solid logical foundations derived from a limited number of axioms ([[Hilbert's Program]]). Having moved to Berlin he participated in a congress on scientific philosophy in 1929, where he met [[Rudolf Carnap]]. Enthusiastic about Carnap's work, Hempel moved to [[Vienna]] and became part of the [[Vienna Circle]]. In 1934 he received his doctoral degree from the University of Berlin with a dissertation on probability theory.
+Also in 1923 Hempel moved to the University of Heidelberg, where he studied mathematics, physics, and philosophy. From 1924 he studied at the University of Berlin where he met Hans Reichenbach, who introduced him to the Berlin Circle of philosophers. Hempel attended Reichenbach's courses. He also studied physics with Max Planck and logic with John von Neumann. In 1929 Hempel participated in the first conference on
+Having moved to Berlin he participated in a congress on scientific philosophy in 1929, where he met [[Rudolf Carnap]]. Enthusiastic about Carnap's work, Hempel moved to [[Vienna]] and became part of the [[Vienna Circle]]. In 1934 he received his doctoral degree from the University of Berlin with a dissertation on probability theory.
 The same year he fled the increasingly repressive Germany and emigrated to Belgium with the help of [[Paul Oppenheim]], with whom he co-authored the book "Der Typusbegriff im Lichte der neuen Logik" on typology and logics in 1936. In 1937 Hempel emigrated to the US where he accepted a position as Carnap's assistant at the [[University of Chicago]]. Subsequently he held positions at New York's [[City College of New York]] (1939-1948), [[Yale University]] (1948-1955), and [[Princeton University]] where he taught alongside Thomas Kuhn, and stayed until he was given emeritus status in 1964. As an emeritus he spent the years from 1964-1966 at the [[Hebrew University]] in Jerusalem and taught at the University of Pittsburgh until 1985.