Walter Dubislav (20 September 1895 – 17 September 1937) was a German

logician Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

and

philosopher of science A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

(''Wissenschaftstheoretiker'').

Biography

After studying mathematics and philosophy, Dubislav attained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in 1922 with "Contributions to the theories of definition and proof within mathematical logic" (''Beiträge zur Lehre von der Definition und vom Beweis vom Standpunkt der mathematischen Logik aus''). In 1928 he became a private lecturer in

philosophy of mathematics The philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that studies the assumptions, foundations, and implications of mathematics. It aims to understand the nature and methods of mathematics, and find out the place of mathematics in peop ...

and the

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

at the Technical University of Berlin and from 1931 was ''Professor Extraordinarius'' (''

außerordentlicher Professor Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

, ao. Prof.''). In 1936 he

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to Prague. He was joint founder (with Hans Reichenbach and

Kurt Grelling Kurt Grelling (2 March 1886 – September 1942) was a German logician and philosopher, member of the Berlin Circle. Life and work Kurt Grelling was born on 2 March 1886 in Berlin. His father, the Doctor of Jurisprudence Richard Grelling, ...

) of the 'Berlin Society for Empirical (''later: Scientific'') Philosophy' (''Berliner Gesellschaft für empirische Philosophie''), which, along with the

Vienna Circle The Vienna Circle (german: Wiener Kreis) of Logical Empiricism was a group of elite philosophers and scientists drawn from the natural and social sciences, logic and mathematics who met regularly from 1924 to 1936 at the University of Vienna, ch ...

, is one of the points of origin of

logical empiricism Logical positivism, later called logical empiricism, and both of which together are also known as neopositivism, is a movement in Western philosophy whose central thesis was the verification principle (also known as the verifiability criterion of ...

.http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/vienna-circle/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The founding members of the Berlin Circle were listed as sympathisers within the Vienna Circle. Dubislav focused on a

logical Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

and

mechanistic The mechanical philosophy is a form of natural philosophy which compares the universe to a large-scale mechanism (i.e. a machine). The mechanical philosophy is associated with the scientific revolution of early modern Europe. One of the first expo ...

foundation of mathematics and physics, influenced by

Bernard Bolzano Bernard Bolzano (, ; ; ; born Bernardus Placidus Johann Gonzal Nepomuk Bolzano; 5 October 1781 – 18 December 1848) was a Bohemian mathematician, logician, philosopher, theologian and Catholic priest of Italian extraction, also known for his lib ...

's "Theory of Science" (''Wissenschaftslehre''). He presented a formalised account of

Gottlob Frege Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege (; ; 8 November 1848 – 26 July 1925) was a German philosopher, logician, and mathematician. He was a mathematics professor at the University of Jena, and is understood by many to be the father of analytic ph ...

's theory of definitions.

Publications

* With Claubberg, K.W.: "A Systematic Dictionary of Philosophy" (''Systematisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie''). Felix Meiner, Leipzig 1923. * "On Definitions" (''Über die Definition''). Weiss, Berlin 1926; 2nd edition published 1927; "Definition" (''Die Definition''), revised and augmented 3rd edition, Felix Meiner, Leipzig 1931; 4th edition, with an introduction by Wilhelm K. Essler, published by Meiner, Hamburg 1981 . * "On the so-called analytic and synthetic judgements" (''Über die sogennanten analytischen und synthetischen Urteile''). Weiss, Berlin 1926. * " Fries' Theory of Meaning" (''Die Friessche Lehre von der Begründung'') in "Representation and Criticism" (''Darstellung und Kritik''), E. Mattig, Dömitz 1926. * "On the Theory of the so-called Creative Definitions" (''Zur Lehre von den sog. schöpferischen Definitionen''). Fulda 1928. * "On the so-called Object in Mathematics" (''Über den sogenannten Gegenstand in der Mathematik'') in "The Annual Report of the German Mathematics Convention, 37" (''Jahresbericht der Deutschen Mathematiker-Vereinigung 37''), pp27–48, Leipzig 1928. * "On the Methodology of Critical Philosophy" (''Zur Methodenlehre des Kritizismus''). H. Beyer & Sons, Langensalza 1929. * "Contemporary Philosophy of Mathematics" (''Die Philosophie der Mathematik in der Gegenwart''). (Philosophische Forschungsberichte 13) Junker & Dünnhaupt, Berlin 1932. * "Philosophy of Nature" (''Naturphilosophie''). (''Philosophische Grundrisse Heft 2'') Junker & Dünnhaupt, Berlin 1933; also in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubislav, Walter 1895 births 1937 deaths German logicians Philosophers of science People from Berlin German male writers Vienna Circle 20th-century German philosophers Technical University of Berlin alumni