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Introduction: The Socio-ethical Concern of Logical Empiricism

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The Socio-Ethical Dimension of Knowledge

Part of the book series: Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook ((VCIY,volume 26))

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Abstract

In this introduction, various notions of socio-political and ethical engagements are introduced. Some examples from logical empiricism are discussed along with the summaries of the volume’s chapters.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For a broad list of social and political values, and a discussion of how they intertwined in the case of logical empiricist philosophy of science, see Richardson (2003).

  2. 2.

    Although he was a member of the Berlin Group (led by Hans Reichenbach), Wolfgang Köhler (1938) also published a long treatise on The Place of Value in a World of Facts. For more on the ethical issues in and the moral philosophy of logical empiricism, see Siegetsleitner (2010, 2014).

  3. 3.

    For an updated view on “logical positivism and the social sciences”, see Uebel (2007, 2010, 2019).

  4. 4.

    One might note here Ernest Nagel as well, who worked out quite specific concerns about the social sciences (mainly during his co-taught seminar with the sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld). On these matters see Neuber (2022).

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Acknowledgements

This paper and volume were supported by the MTA BTK Lendület Morals and Science Research Group, by the MTA Lendület Values and Science Research Group, and by the MTA Premium Postdoctoral research scholarship. The work and discussion of the contributors and referees of the papers are gratefully acknowledged.

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Tuboly, A.T. (2022). Introduction: The Socio-ethical Concern of Logical Empiricism. In: Damböck, C., Tuboly, A.T. (eds) The Socio-Ethical Dimension of Knowledge. Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook, vol 26. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80363-6_1

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