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Birth
Moritz Schlick was born on April 14, 1882 into a wealthy family, Ernst Albert Schlick (father) and Agnes Arndt (mother), in Berlin, Germany. -
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Life
Moritz Schlick was a German trained physicist turned philosopher. Schlick was a leader in the European school of positivist philosophers, the Vienna Circle. (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Moritz Schlick) -
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Life (Con.)
In 19th century Germans, many physicists became interested in philosophical issues. In his lifetime he taught at universities, studied under Max Planck, lead The Vienna Circle, and contributed to works in logical positivism. -
Über die Reflexion des Lichts in einer inhomogenen Schicht
Schlick attended school at the University of Losanna, in Heidelberg and Vienna and University of Berlin where he studied physics under Max Planck and wrote his dissertation on "the Reflection of Light in a Non-Homogeneous Medium" which earned him his doctorate from the University. -
"Lebensweisheit"
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"The Boundaries of Scientific and Philosophical Concept-Formation"
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"The Nature of Truth in Modern Logic"
Schlick wrote an essay, "The Nature of Truth in Modern Logic", which gives us the idea that understanding scientific thought is identifying the "aim of science as the reduction of phenomena to relationships governed by law, thus exhibiting individual events as special cases of universal, exceptionless regularities." (Oberdan Moritz Schlick) -
"Space and Time in Contemporary Physics"
"a philosophical introduction to the new physics of Relativity which was highly acclaimed by Einstein himself as well as many others." (Oberdan Moritz Schlick) -
"General Theory of Knowledge"
Schlick believed "concepts are formed in clusters"; concepts represent classes of objects which are defined in terms of traits. Concepts differ from institutions in which institutions "are indistinct representations of what is presented" (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Moritz Schlick). Our reliance on concepts allow us to understand a higher level of "everyday knowing" in which scientific thinking takes place. -
University of Vienna
Schlick's work lead him down the road of being appointed to the chair of Naturphilosophie (Natural Philosophy) at the University of Vienna. -
The Vienna Circle
The Vienna Circle was a group the consisted of philosophers lead by Moritz Schlick, who would regularly meet during an academic year. This group was very active in presenting new philosophical ideas in "positivism".Their goal was to hold philosophy to a higher standard of verifiability
It's members included:
1. Gustav Bergmann
2. Rudolf Carnap
3. Herbert Feigl
and much more
(The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Moritz Schlick) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e1gdGluXI8(http://timetoast.com) -
The Meaning of Life
Schlick argued against some that "the meaning of life is to be found not in work but in play", and later refers to "play" as "youth". He rejected the idea that happiness is the meaning of life as man is an "active creature" and a life of idled pleasure or happiness is unsustainable for the creatures that we are; we won't find happiness in the same continuous pattern, but to engage in "play", in doing something that you enjoy even if it means there is nothing to gain in the end. -
Logical Positivism
In 1929 the theory of logical positivism became a movement. Schlick believed that "science is not characterized by its internal coherence; rather, scientific statements must be tested with respect to the given experience." (Murzi [5. Biographical Notes.]) Schlick created a theory based on knowledge being the base of empirical evidence and used symbolic knowledge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdSzJdQhCiQ(http://www.timetoast.com)
(aeonmagazine I Hope This Helps: Logical Positivism) -
Death (After the Circle)
Moritz Schlick passed away on June 22, 1936 in Vienna, Austria. "The members of the Vienna Circle were dispersed when the Nazi Party came to power in Germany; many of them emigrated to the U.S.A., where they taught in several universities. Schlick remained in Austria, but in 1936 he was killed by a Nazi sympathizer student in the University of Vienna." (Murzi Vienna Circle) After Schlick's death, the Circle ceased to meet.
