Synopses & Reviews
This book is a major contribution to the history of analytic philosophy in general and logical positivism in particular. It provides the first detailed and comprehensive study of Rudolf Carnap, one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century philosophy. This book fills a significant gap in the literature on the history of twentieth-century philosophy, and will be of particular importance to historians of analytic philosophy, philosophers of science, and historians of science.
Review
"...an intensive examination of virtually all of Carnap's earlier writings....I believe that the book will therefore be indispensable for all future work on Carnap." Michael Friedman, author of Kant and the Exact Sciences
Review
"Richardson presents a clearly written, carefully researched and well-argued interpretation of Rudolf Carnap's struggle to move beyond the neo-Kantian epistemology in which he was trained." Charles E. Kielkopf, Mathematical Reviews
Review
"Richardson's book is rich in telling detail that will no doubt be debated in scholarly articles...It is an added bonus that Richardson provides good reasons for optimism." The Philosophical Review
Synopsis
The first detailed and comprehensive study of Rudolf Carnap, an influential figure in twentieth-century philosophy.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Reconstructing the Aufbau; 2. The problem of objectivity: an overview of Carnap's constitutional project; 3. An outline of the constitutional projects for objectivity; 4. The background to early Carnap: themes from Kant; 5. The fundamentals of neo-Kantian epistemology; 6. Carnap's neo-Kantian origins: Der Raum; 7. Critical conventionalism; 8. Epistemology between logic and science: the essential tension; 9. After objectivity: logical empiricism as philosophy of science; Bibliography; Index.