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Birth
Frankfurt, Germany -
Period: to
Paul Oppenheim
Studied natural sciences and chemistry at University of Freiburg earning Doctorate in chemistry and philosophy. Active in the Chemical industry (IG Farben) until 1933, when emigrated to brussels. Nazi rule in Germany began, he assisted financially to help scientist escape from Germany. He published with Carl Gustav Hempel and Kurt Grelling on philosophy of science, including Gestalt psychology. Oppenheim is the co-founder of the Hempel-Oppenheim schema or Deductive nomological model. -
Immigration to Belgium
Immigrated from Nazi Germany to Brussels. -
The Gestalt Concept in Light of the New Logic
Kurt Grelling and Paul Oppenheim, "The Gestalt concept in light of the new logic," cognition 7 (1937/38), pp. 211-225 and "Supplemental Remarks on the Concepts of Gasalt" pp. 357-359 -
Immigration to the United States of America
Immigrated from Brussels. Became a private scholar at Princeton. -
Logical Analysis of 'Gestalt' as 'Functional whole'
Grelling, Kurt, and Paul Oppenheim. “Logical Analysis of 'Gestalt' as 'Functional Whole,' Preprinted for Distribution at the Fifth Inductional Congress for the Unity of Science," Cambridge, MA.” 1939 -
A Syntactical Definition of Probability and of Degree of Confirmation
Hempel, Carl G, and Paul Oppenheim. “A Syntactical Definition of Probability and of Degree of Confirmaion.” The Journal of Symbolic Logic, vol. 10, 1945, pp. 25–60., -
A definition of "Degree of Confirmation
Hempel, Carl G, and Paul Oppenheim. “A Definition of 'Degree of Confirmation” Philosophy of Science 12, 1945, pp. 98-115, -
Deductive-Nomological Model
Together with Hempel published a journal in Philosophy of Science (volume 15) with an explanation of deductive-nomological. A scientific explanation that consists of two "constituents". A sentence “describing the phenomenon to be explained”(explanandum) and “the class of those sentences which are adduced to account for the phenomenon” (explanans). For the explanandum to be acceptable, the explanans must be true. This became the standard conception of explanation. -
Logical Analysis of Gestalt Concepts
Oppenheim, Paul, and Nicholas Rescher. “Logical Analysis of Gestalt Concepts.” The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science , vol. 6, 1955, pp. 89–106., -
Dimensions of Knowledge
Oppenheim, Paul. “Dimensions of Knowledge.” Reveu internationale de philosophie, vol. 11, 1957 pp. 151-191., -
Unity of Science as a working Hypothesis
Working with Hilary Putnam they published “Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis in Herbert Feigl Et. Al. (Eds) Has .” Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 11, 1958. This brought into thought that natural sciences could be put under a singular blanket theory. -
Death
Died at 92 years old.