Anlage Publishing

F.A. Moritz Schlick

"Great interest thus circles round the question whether it is not possible to solve the cosmological problem by some new theory which is entirely satisfactory in every way."

Yet another great German philosopher, Moritz Schick was the leader of the famous “Vienna Circle” and took over the head post in 1922. Like Ayer in the 40’s, Moritz Schlick had also been profoundly influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein. Schlick distinguished himself, however, through his relationship with Albert Einstein with whom he had corresponded regularly. He eventually wrote a famous book entitled Space and Time in Contemporary Physics : An Introduction to the Theory of Relativity and Gravitation. Einstein himself praised the writings of Schlick saying,

Highly honored colleague, I received your paper yesterday, and have studied it thoroughly. It's among the best yet of what's been written about relativity. Nothing nearly as clear has previously been written about its philosophical aspects. At the same time you have full command of the theory itself...

Truly masterful is your discussion of relativity theory's relationship to the philosophy of Kant and his disciples...

Asking you to visit me when your path leads to Berlin, I remain your entirely devoted - A. Einstein

Although trained in the sciences and having completed his doctorate under Max Planck, Schlick considered himself a professional philosopher and, just like Ayer, was extremely concerned about rescuing philosophy from the “nonsense” of metaphysics. Schlick stood out, however, in that he thought that ethics could still be studied scientifically. This logical positivist position was elaborated in his book Problems in Ethics where he explained how meaningful statements could still be made about human desires and the forces behind human actions.

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Tragically, Moritz Schlick was killed by a mentally disturbed student in 1936. His works continue, however, to be viewed as amongst the most influential achievements in both scientific and philosophical understanding today.