Hans reichenbach

Hans Reichenbach

By Haley Poppenga

  • Personal Data

    Hans Reichenbach was born in 1891 in Hamburg, Germany. He moved to Munich and Göttingen, while living here the scientist studied physics, philosophy, and mathematics. Reichenbach was forced to serve in the military from 1915 to 1917; from then he worked as an engineer. He was also the founder of the Berlin Circle.

  • The Theory of Probability

    The Theory of Probability
    Reichenbach continued to revise his book of probability until 1935. During this year the scientist wrote his book titled The Theory of Probability, and this paper developed his theory fuller. Karl Popper strongly criticized this paper, and it was not well received. In this paper, Reichenbach states many formulas to back his theory.

  • A Deeper Understanding

    Reichenbach's interest in probability became deeper after working with Einstein. The theory uses axioms which are equations and there are four of them. Andrey Kolmogorov tested this theory multiple times and went back and forth with Reichenbach on this subject of probability. The logical side is put in the mathematical development of probability in the book. Many agree that there were several mathematical errors.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjqWP3wp3wY&t=74s

  • The Foundations

    Reichenbach tries to come up with a foundation for probability claims in terms of properties of sequences in his book. The two factors that are essential to the foundation are the invariance under subsequence selection and the lack of aftereffect. Scientists today are unable to distinguish the criteria for these two. The book was published in 1972.

  • The Other Parts

    There are many sections in the book that are not solely focused on the theory of probability. There is the mathematics portion which this supports Reichenbach's equations. There is a portion dedicated to reconstructing results in the theory. The last portion of the book is about epistemological role.

  • Moving to the United States

    Reichenbach moved to the U.S. in 1938. He then worked at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The scientist did not get his American citizenship until 1941 due to World War II playing out. He suffered from a heart attack on April 9th, 1953; sadly causing his death.