Carl Gustav "Peter" Hempel (January 8, 1905 – November 9, 1997) was a German

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, philosopher, logician, and epistemologist. He was a major figure in

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 ...

, a 20th-century movement in the

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ult ...

. He is especially well known for his articulation of the

deductive-nomological model The deductive-nomological model (DN model) of scientific explanation, also known as Hempel's model, the Hempel–Oppenheim model, the Popper–Hempel model, or the covering law model, is a formal view of scientifically answering questions asking, ...

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

explanation An explanation is a set of statements usually constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequences of those facts. It may establish rules or laws, and may clarify the existing rules or laws in relatio ...

, which was considered the "standard model" of scientific explanation during the 1950s and 1960s. He is also known for the raven paradox (also known as "Hempel's paradox").

Education

Hempel studied mathematics,

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and philosophy at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

and subsequently at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

and the

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

. In

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

, he encountered David Hilbert and was impressed by his program attempting to base all mathematics on solid

logic 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 premise ...

al foundations derived from a limited number of axioms. After moving to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Hempel participated in a congress on scientific philosophy in 1929 where he met Rudolf Carnap and became involved in the

Berlin Circle The Berlin Circle (german: die Berliner Gruppe) was a group that maintained logical empiricist views about philosophy. History Berlin Circle was created in the late 1920s by Hans Reichenbach, Kurt Grelling and Walter Dubislav and composed o ...

of philosophers associated 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 ...

. In 1934, he received his

doctoral degree 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 ''l ...

from the

with a dissertation on

probability theory Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expressing it through a set ...

, titled '' Beiträge zur logischen Analyse des Wahrscheinlichkeitsbegriffs'' (''Contributions to the Logical Analysis of the Concept of Probability''). Hans Reichenbach was Hempel's main doctoral supervisor, but after Reichenbach lost his philosophy chair in Berlin in 1933,

Wolfgang Köhler Wolfgang Köhler (21 January 1887 – 11 June 1967) was a German psychologist and phenomenologist who, like Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka, contributed to the creation of Gestalt psychology. During the Nazi regime in Germany, he prote ...

and Nicolai Hartmann became the official supervisors.

Career

Within a year of completing his doctorate, the increasingly repressive and anti-semitic Nazi regime in Germany had prompted Hempel to emigrate to Belgium as his wife was of Jewish ancestry. In this he was aided by the scientist

Paul Oppenheim Paul Oppenheim (June 17, 1885 – June 22, 1977) was a German chemist, philosopher, independent scholar and industrialist. Biography Oppenheim was born in Frankfurt am Main. After studying natural sciences and chemistry at the University of Freibur ...

, with whom he co-authored the book ''Der Typusbegriff im Lichte der neuen Logik'' on

typology Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...

and logic in 1936. In 1937, Hempel emigrated to the United States, where he accepted a position as Carnap's assistant at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. He later held positions at the City College of New York (1939–1948),

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

(1948–1955) and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, where he taught alongside

Thomas Kuhn Thomas Samuel Kuhn (; July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996) was an American philosopher of science whose 1962 book '' The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'' was influential in both academic and popular circles, introducing the term ''paradig ...

and remained until made emeritus in 1973. Between 1974 and 1976, he was an emeritus at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

in Jerusalem before becoming University Professor of Philosophy at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

in 1977 and teaching there until 1985. In 1989 the Department of Philosophy at Princeton University renamed its Three Lecture Series the 'Carl G. Hempel Lectures' in his honor. He was an elected member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

and of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

for which he served as president.

Philosophical views

Hempel never embraced the term " logical positivism" as an accurate description of the Vienna Circle and Berlin Group, preferring to describe those philosophers, including himself, as "logical empiricists." He believed that the term " positivism," with its roots in the materialism of Auguste Comte, implied a

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

that empiricists were not obliged to embrace. He regarded

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is con ...

as a philosopher with a genius for stating philosophical insights in striking and memorable language, but believed that he, or at least the Wittgenstein of the '' Tractatus,'' made claims that could only be supported by recourse to

. To Hempel, metaphysics involved claims to know things which were not knowable; that is, metaphysical hypotheses were incapable of confirmation or disconfirmation by evidence. Hempel is also credited with the revival of the

Deductive-nomological model The deductive-nomological model (DN model) of scientific explanation, also known as Hempel's model, the Hempel–Oppenheim model, the Popper–Hempel model, or the covering law model, is a formal view of scientifically answering questions asking, ...

of explanation in the 1940's with the publication of "The function of general laws in history".

Legacy

In 2005, the City of Oranienburg, Hempel's birthplace, renamed one of its streets "Carl-Gustav-Hempel-Straße" in his memory.

Bibliography

Principal works

*1936: "Über den Gehalt von Wahrscheinlichkeitsaussagen" and, with Paul Oppenheim, "Der Typusbegriff im Licht der neuen Logik" *1942: "The Function of General Laws in History" *1943: "Studies in the Logic of Confirmation" *1959: "The Logic of Functional Analysis" *1965: ''

Aspects of Scientific Explanation ''Aspects of Scientific Explanation and other Essays in the Philosophy of Science'' is a 1965 book by the philosopher Carl Gustav Hempel. It is regarded as one of the most important works in the philosophy of science written after World War II. R ...

'' *1966: ''

Philosophy of Natural Science ''Philosophy of Natural Science'' is a 1966 book about the philosophy of science by the philosopher Carl Gustav Hempel. Reception The philosopher Michael Friedman wrote that while ''Philosophy of Natural Science'' was more popular in its approach ...

Essay collections

*'' Aspects of Scientific Explanation and Other Essays'' (1965), . *''Selected Philosophical Essays'' (2000), . *''The Philosophy of Carl G. Hempel: Studies in Science, Explanation, and Rationality'' (2001), .

Articles

″On the Nature of Mathematical Truth"
and ″Geometry and Empirical Science″ (1945), ''American Mathematical Monthly'', issue 52. *Articles in '' Readings in Philosophical Analysis'' (pp. 222–249), edited by

Herbert Feigl Herbert Feigl (; ; December 14, 1902 – June 1, 1988) was an Austrian-American philosopher and an early member of the Vienna Circle. He coined the term " nomological danglers". Biography The son of a trained weaver who became a textile designer, ...

and

Wilfrid Sellars Wilfrid Stalker Sellars (May 20, 1912 – July 2, 1989) was an American philosopher and prominent developer of critical realism, who "revolutionized both the content and the method of philosophy in the United States". Life and career His father ...

(Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1949).

References

External links

Carl Gustav Hempel
at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
"Problems and Changes in the Empiricist Criterion of Meaning" by Carl G. Hempel

by the Princeton University Office of Communications.
Carl Gustav Hempel Papers, 1903-1997, ASP.1999.01
at the Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh.

in the ''New York Times''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hempel, Carl Gustav 1905 births 1997 deaths 20th-century essayists 20th-century German male writers 20th-century German non-fiction writers 20th-century German philosophers City College of New York faculty Empiricists German essayists German logicians German male essayists German male non-fiction writers Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty Heidelberg University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Logical positivism People from Oranienburg People from the Province of Brandenburg Philosophers of logic Philosophers of mathematics Philosophers of science Philosophy academics Philosophy writers Princeton University faculty University of Göttingen alumni University of Pittsburgh faculty Vienna Circle Yale University faculty Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy