Friedrich Waismann (; ; 21 March 18964 November 1959) was an Austrian

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He is best known for being a member of the Vienna Circle and one of the key theorists in

logical positivism Logical positivism, also known as logical empiricism or neo-positivism, was a philosophical movement, in the empiricist tradition, that sought to formulate a scientific philosophy in which philosophical discourse would be, in the perception of ...

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria-Hungary, Waismann was educated in mathematics and physics at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. In 1922, he began to study philosophy under the tutelage of Moritz Schlick, the founder of the Vienna Circle. He emigrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1938 due to the annexation of Austria by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. He was a reader in

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1937 to 1939, and lecturer in

philosophy of mathematics Philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of mathematics and its relationship to other areas of philosophy, particularly epistemology and metaphysics. Central questions posed include whether or not mathem ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 1939 until his death. He died in

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Relationship with Wittgenstein

Schlick first met

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

in 1927 and did so several times before the latter would agree to be introduced to some of his colleagues. From 1927 to 1928 Wittgenstein met with small groups that included Schlick, almost always Waismann, sometimes Carnap, and sometimes Feigl and his future wife Maria Kesper. But it is doubtful that Wittgenstein ever attended any meetings of the Vienna Circle proper. And from 1929, Wittgenstein's contact with the Circle would be restricted to meetings with Schlick and Waismann only. Conversations from these later meetings (December 1929 up to March 1932) were recorded by Waismann, and eventually published in English translation in ''Ludwig Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle'' (1979). By the time these conversations began, Schlick had tasked Waismann with writing an exposition of Wittgenstein's philosophy. This project would undergo radical transformation but the final text, inspired by WIttgenstein but very much Waismann's own work, was published posthumously in English as ''The Principles of Linguistic Philosophy'' in 1965. Further material and notes from the period were published in English under the editorship of Gordon Baker in 2003. Waismann later accused Wittgenstein of

obscurantism In philosophy, obscurantism or obscurationism is the Anti-intellectualism, anti-intellectual practice of deliberately presenting information in an wikt:abstruse, abstruse and imprecise manner that limits further inquiry and understanding of a subj ...

because of what he considered to be his betrayal of the project of logical positivism and empirically-based explanation.

Philosophy

Linguistic philosophy and logical positivism

In ''Introduction to Mathematical Thinking: The Formation of Concepts in Modern Mathematics'' (1936), Waismann argued that mathematical truths are true by convention rather than being necessarily (or verifiably) true. His collected papers were published posthumously in ''How I See Philosophy'' (1968, ed. R. Harré) and ''Philosophical Papers'' (1976, ed. B. F. McGuinness).

Porosity and verifiability

Waismann introduced the concept of '' open texture'' to describe the universal possibility of vagueness in empirical statements. He had coined the phrase "die Porosität der Begriffe" ("the porosity of concepts") for this purpose and credits William Kneale for suggesting the English term that he then adopted. It is probably based, Brian Bix suggests, "on a constructivist view of language Wittgenstein put forward in the early 1930s." According to Waismann, even after measures have been taken to ensure that a statement is precise, there remains an inexhaustible source of vagueness due to an indefinite number of possibilities. Waismann's notion of ''vagueness'' is slightly different from his concept of ''open texture''―he explained that open texture is more like the possibility of vagueness; vagueness can also be remedied so that it can be made more precise, while open texture cannot. Open texture has been found in legal philosophy through the writings of H. L. A. Hart (see Hart's "Formalism and Rule Scepticism" in ''The Concept of Law''). According to Hart, vagueness constitutes a fundamental feature of legal languages. It is claimed, however, that Waismann's conceptualization has limited practical application, since it is more for the ''extraordinary'', while Hart's view of open texture concerns the more ''mundane'', approaching the term in the context of a particular norm.

Selected bibliography

Articles

* "Die Natur des Reduzibilitätsaxioms", '' Monatshefte für Mathematik und Physik'' 35, 1928, pp. 143–146''.'' ** translated as "The Nature of the Axiom of Reducibility" in '' Philosophical Papers'' (1976)
"Logische Analyse des Wahrscheinlichkeitsbegriffs"
'' Erkenntnis'', Vol. 1 (1930/1931), pp. 228-248. ** translated as "A Logical Analysis of the Concept of Probability" in ''Philosophical Papers'' (1976) *
Über den Begriff der Identität
in ''Erkenntnis'', Vol. 6 (1936), pp. 56-64. ** translated as" The Concept of Identity" in ''Philosophical Papers'' (1976)
"De beteekenis van Moritz Schlick voor de wijsbegeerte"
''

Synthese ''Synthese'' () is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the epistemology, methodology, and philosophy of science, and related issues. The name ''Synthese'' (from the Dutch for '' synthesis'') finds its origin in the intentions of its f ...

'', Vol. 1, No. 12 (1936), pp. 361-370. ** translated as "Moritz Schlick's Significance for Philosophy" in ''Philosophical Papers'' (1976)
"Was ist logische Analyse?"
''The Journal of Unified Science (Erkenntnis)'', Vol. 8, No. 5/6 (Apr. 1, 1940), pp. 265-289. ** translated as "What is Logical Analysis?" in ''Philosophical Papers'' (1976)
"Verifiability"
'' Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes'' ''Vol.'' 19, (1945), pp. 119–150
"The Many-Level-Structure of Language"
''Synthese'', Vol. 5, No. 5/6 (Sep.-Oct., 1946), pp. 221-229.
"Logische und Psychologische Aspekte in der Sprachbetrachtung"
''Synthese'', Vol. 6, No. 9/12 (1947/1948), pp. 460-475.
"Analytic-Synthetic"
''Analysis,'' Vol. 10, No. 2 (Dec., 1949), pp. 25-40.
"Analytic-Synthetic II"
''Analysis'', Vol. 11, No. 2 (Dec., 1950), pp. 25-38.
"II: Notes on Talks with Wittgenstein"
''

The Philosophical Review ''The Philosophical Review'' is a quarterly journal of philosophy edited by the faculty of the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University. Since September 2006, it is published by Duke University Press. Overview The journal publishes origin ...

'', Vol. 74, No. 1 (Jan., 1965), pp. 12-16.