Mid-Century Philosophy of Science
Time: Monday mornings (every other week), 10:00 - 11:15 am Central Time
Place: 737 Heller Hall and 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. Our first meeting is Monday, September 8th. The group will run through December 1st.
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Fall 2026
The readings for this semester are TBC.
Dates TBC
Dates TBC
Dates TBC
Dates TBC
Dates TBC
Dates TBC
Previous meetings
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”