Paul Oppenheim (June 17, 1885 – June 22, 1977) was a German
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
, philosopher, independent scholar and industrialist.
Biography
Oppenheim was born in
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. After studying natural sciences and chemistry at the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...
, he earned his doctorate in chemistry and philosophy. He was active in the chemical industry (
IG Farben
I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German Chemical industry, chemical and Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical co ...
) until 1933, when he emigrated to Brussels. His father, the Frankfurt gem dealer Nathan Moritz Oppenheim (1848–1933), and his mother took their life together in 1933. In 1939, Oppenheim and his family emigrated to the US, where he worked as a private scholar in
Princeton
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
. He and his wife Gabrielle Oppenheim-Errera hosted Sunday luncheons there for intellectuals and artists.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
was his great friend and they took regular Sunday morning walks together.
After the beginning of
Nazi rule in Germany, he gave several persecuted scientists such as
Carl Gustav Hempel
Carl Gustav "Peter" Hempel (; ; January 8, 1905 – November 9, 1997) was a German writer, philosopher, logician, and epistemologist. He was a major figure in Logical positivism, logical empiricism, a 20th-century movement in the philosophy ...
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 ...
financial resources and assistance to escape from Germany.
He published with Hempel and Grelling on philosophy and
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, ...
, including
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology, gestaltism, or configurationism is a school of psychology and a theory of perception that emphasises the processing of entire patterns and configurations, and not merely individual components. It emerged in the early twent ...
. Oppenheim is co-founder of the so-called Hempel–Oppenheim schema (
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, " ...
).
Publications
*Hempel, CG and Oppenheim, P.: "The type concept in light of the new logic. Theoretical studies on the constitution and psychology research.
*Kurt Grelling and Paul Oppenheim, "The Gestalt concept in light of the new logic," cognition 7 (1937/38), 211–225
ngl. Translation: 1988.1
*Kurt Grelling and Paul Oppenheim, Supplementary Remarks on the Concept of Gestalt, "cognition 7 (1937/38), 357–359
eprinted: 1988.2
*Kurt Grelling and Paul Oppenheim, "Concerning the Structure of Wholes", Philosophy of Science 6 (1939), 487–488.
*Kurt Grelling and Paul Oppenheim, Logical Analysis of "Gestalt" as "Functional Whole"
aper sent in for the Fifth International Congress for the Unity of Science (Cambridge, Mass., 1939) TS, 8 p.
y Carl G . Hempel, Princeton, reprint: 1988.3, 1999.1
* Paul Oppenheim and Nicholas Rescher, "Logical Analysis of Gestalt Concepts", British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, vol. 6 (1955), pp. 89–106.
*Paul Oppenheim and Hilary Putnam : "The Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis". In: ''Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science'', 1958
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oppenheim, Paul
German philosophers of science
1885 births
1977 deaths