Carl Gustav Hempel
Encyclopedia
Carl Gustav "Peter" Hempel (January 8, 1905 in Oranienburg
, Germany
- November 9, 1997 in Princeton
, New Jersey
) was a philosopher of science
and a major figure in 20th-century logical empiricism
. He is especially well-known for his articulation of the Deductive-nomological
model of scientific explanation
, which was considered the "standard model" of scientific explanation during the 1950s and 1960s. He is also known for the Raven paradox
, which highlights the problem of induction
.
, physics
, and philosophy
at the University of Göttingen, Heidelberg
and 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
and became involved in the Berlin Circle of philosophers that was associated with 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 and anti-semitic Germany (especially considering his wife was partially Jewish) 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 1973. As an emeritus he spent the years from 1974-1976 at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He became University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh
in 1977 and taught there 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."
Hempel believed that the term "positivism", with its roots in Auguste Comte
, invoked a materialist metaphysic that empiricists need not embrace. He regarded Wittgenstein as a philosopher with a genius for stating philosophical insights in striking and memorable language, but believed that Wittgenstein (or at least, the Wittgenstein of the Tractatus) made claims which could only be supported by recourse to metaphysics. To Hempel, metaphysics were anathema, involving claims to know things which were not knowable, that is, advancing hypotheses incapable of tending to be confirmed or disconfirmed by evidence.
In 2005 the City of Oranienburg renamed a street to "Carl-Gustav-Hempel-Straße".
Oranienburg
Oranienburg is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel.- Geography :Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin.- Division of the town :...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- November 9, 1997 in Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
) was a philosopher of science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
and a major figure in 20th-century logical empiricism
Logical positivism
Logical positivism is a philosophy that combines empiricism—the idea that observational evidence is indispensable for knowledge—with a version of rationalism incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of epistemology.It may be considered as a type of analytic...
. He is especially well-known for his articulation of the Deductive-nomological
Deductive-nomological
The deductive-nomological model is a formalized view of scientific explanation in natural language. It characterizes scientific explanations primarily as deductive arguments with at least one natural law statement among its premises...
model of scientific explanation
Explanation
An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequencesof those facts....
, which was considered the "standard model" of scientific explanation during the 1950s and 1960s. He is also known for the Raven paradox
Raven paradox
The Raven paradox, also known as Hempel's paradox or Hempel's ravens is a paradox proposed by the German logician Carl Gustav Hempel in the 1940s to illustrate a problem where inductive logic violates intuition...
, which highlights the problem of induction
Problem of induction
The problem of induction is the philosophical question of whether inductive reasoning leads to knowledge. That is, what is the justification for either:...
.
Biography
Hempel studied mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of Göttingen, Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. In Göttingen he encountered David Hilbert
David Hilbert
David Hilbert was a German mathematician. He is recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of...
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
Hilbert's program
In mathematics, Hilbert's program, formulated by German mathematician David Hilbert, was a proposed solution to the foundational crisis of mathematics, when early attempts to clarify the foundations of mathematics were found to suffer from paradoxes and inconsistencies...
). Having moved to Berlin he participated in a congress on scientific philosophy in 1929, where he met Rudolf Carnap
Rudolf Carnap
Rudolf Carnap was an influential German-born philosopher who was active in Europe before 1935 and in the United States thereafter. He was a major member of the Vienna Circle and an advocate of logical positivism....
and became involved in the Berlin Circle of philosophers that was associated with the Vienna Circle
Vienna Circle
The Vienna Circle was an association of philosophers gathered around the University of Vienna in 1922, chaired by Moritz Schlick, also known as the Ernst Mach Society in honour of Ernst Mach...
. 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 and anti-semitic Germany (especially considering his wife was partially Jewish) and emigrated to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
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
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Subsequently he held positions at New York's City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
(1939–1948), Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(1948–1955), and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
where he taught alongside Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Samuel Kuhn was an American historian and philosopher of science whose controversial 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was deeply influential in both academic and popular circles, introducing the term "paradigm shift," which has since become an English-language staple.Kuhn...
, and stayed until he was given emeritus status in 1973. As an emeritus he spent the years from 1974-1976 at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He became University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in 1977 and taught there 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."
Hempel believed that the term "positivism", with its roots in Auguste Comte
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
, invoked a materialist metaphysic that empiricists need not embrace. He regarded Wittgenstein as a philosopher with a genius for stating philosophical insights in striking and memorable language, but believed that Wittgenstein (or at least, the Wittgenstein of the Tractatus) made claims which could only be supported by recourse to metaphysics. To Hempel, metaphysics were anathema, involving claims to know things which were not knowable, that is, advancing hypotheses incapable of tending to be confirmed or disconfirmed by evidence.
In 2005 the City of Oranienburg renamed a street to "Carl-Gustav-Hempel-Straße".
External links
- Carl Gustav Hempel at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- "Problems and Changes in the Empiricist Criterion of Meaning" by Carl G. Hempel
- Carl G. Hempel obituary by the Princeton University Office of Communications
- Finding Aid for the Carl Gustav Hempel Archive at the University of Pittsburgh's Archives of Scientific Philosophy
- Obituary in New York Times