Mid-Century Philosophy of Science
Time: Monday mornings (every other week), 10:00 - 11:15 am Central Time
Place: Online via Zoom
The Mid-Century Philosophy of Science group reads and discusses works from philosophy of science’s early period of establishment and growth: the mid-20th century. Interests of the group include classic texts of logical empiricism, philosophy of science from the 1950s or ‘60s, and secondary scholarship thereupon. We also occasionally discuss the research of group members on these topics.
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Autumn 2026
This semester, the Mid-Century Philosophy of Science reading group will be discussing Sander Verhaegh’s new book, Logical Positivism: An American History (Oxford University Press, 2026), available Open Access online. For more information, please reach out to Bennett McNulty ([email protected]).
September 15: 1. Introduction and 2. Selective Pressures (pp. 1–54)
September 28: 3. External Relations and 4. Frames of Reference (pp. 55–106)
October 12: 5. First Encounters and 6. Science, Syntax, Socialism (pp. 131–88)
October 26: 7. Exiled Empiricists and 8. Danger to the Discipline (pp. 189–224 & 239–68)
November 9: 9. Supply and Demand and 10. Golden Age/Gilded Cage (pp. 269–328)
November 30: 11. Kulturkampf, 12. Post-Positivism, 13. New Narratives, and 14. Conclusion (pp. 347–418 & 433–8)
Previous meetings
Summer 2026
This summer, the Mid-Century Philosophy of Science reading group will be discussing George Reisch’s The Politics of Paradigms: Thomas S. Kuhn, James B. Conant, and the Cold War “Struggle for Men’s Minds” (SUNY Press, 2019). For more information, please reach out to Bennett McNulty ([email protected]).
Note: The readings are quite long! But please feel free to participate even if you just want to listen in to the discussion or only had the time to skim the readings.
20 July: Part I, pp. 1–64
3 August: Part II, pp. 65–152
17 August: Part III, pp. 153–254
31 August: Part IV, pp. 255–366
Spring 2026
The readings for this semester are:
February 2: Churchman, C. West, and Ackoff, Russell L. 1946. Varieties of Unification. Philosophy of Science 13, no. 4, 287–300. PDF.
February 16: Meehl, P. 1960. The Cognitive Activity of the Clinician. The American Psychologist. PDF.
March 2: Brodbeck, M. 1954. On the Philosophy of the Social Sciences. Philosophy of Science. PDF.
March 16: No meeting
March 30: Verhaegh (ed)., American Philosophy and the Intellectual Migration. Available open access online.
“Introduction,” by Sander Verhaegh (pp. 1–30)
Chapter 1, “Lewis and the Exiled Empiricists,” by Cheryl Misak (pp. 31–52)
April 13: Verhaegh (ed)., American Philosophy and the Intellectual Migration. Available open access online.
Chapter 3: Joel Katzav, "Speculative Philosophy of Science vs. Logical Positivism: Preliminary Round”
Chapter 4: Sander Verhaegh, “Columbia Naturalism and the Analytic Turn: Eclipse or Synthesis?”
April 27: Verhaegh (ed)., American Philosophy and the Intellectual Migration. Available open access online.
Chapter 8: George Reisch and Adam Tuboly, “Reviving the Unity of Science Movement: Philipp Frank’s Journey to Harvard”
Chapter 9: “Herbert Feigl on the Idea of a 'Scientific Humanism’”
May 11: Verhaegh (ed)., American Philosophy and the Intellectual Migration. Available open access online.
Chapter 11: Fons Dewulf, "The Failed Reception of Voluntarism in Logical Empiricism”