Neurath and the Legacy of Algebraic Logic

The Datatext at the Knowledge Exhibition

“…Indeed, Neurath dismissed the idea of pure, unaided rationality as "pseudorationalism" (Howard, 2019, p. 53). His approach to science, therefore, did not necessitate the exclusive use of value-free methods (Cat, 2019). Neither did his approach to education, which was distinctly pragmatic, drawing as it did upon the two dominant educational philosophies in Vienna --popular (bourgeois) education and socialist education (Groß, 2019, p. 181).…”

“…Ever the empiricist, Neurath thought of vision as a more reliable mode of connection between words and reality (Burke in Burke et al, 2013b, p. 88). Neurath sought a unified theory of empirical knowledge, expressed in predicate logic, based on an encyclopaedic rather than a systemic model; an approach to knowledge that was heterarchical in nature, rather than hierarchical (Cat, 2019).…”

“…This tradition represents a philosophy of "good living," involving the pursuit of a simple life of tranquillity and contentment, free from pain and fear. Neurath's emphasis on the collaborative process, rather than a hierarchical "program," speaks to the perceived importance of democratic cooperation in science and internationalization, a common theme among the Logical Positivists leading lights (Cat, 2019;Edmonds, 2020, p. 6). For Neurath, as for all Logical Positivists, an optimistic belief in the potential of human rationality was also important.…”

“…Neither did his approach to education, which was distinctly pragmatic, drawing as it did upon the two dominant educational philosophies in Vienna --popular (bourgeois) education and socialist education (Groß, 2019, p. 181). Education, for Neurath, required argumentation that might allow one to separate essentials from incidentals in each subject matter, which in turn meant that it was unavoidably (and unapologetically) ideological (Cat, 2019).…”

“…Neurath believed that increased suffrage required the efficient diffusion of knowledge through education (Vossoughian, 2011, p. 58). A universal language he hoped may help achieve this goal (Cat, 2019), an idea long-established in utopian socialist thought, owing debts to Descartes, Comenius, Leibniz and others (Lins, 2016, p. 238). Neurath described Isotype variously as a 'helping language' (Hartmann 2008, pp.…”