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person1891-1953

Hans Reichenbach

Disciplines:
logic
epistemology
philosophy of science

Summary

German philosopher of science who developed a frequency theory of probability, a pragmatic vindication of induction, and the philosophical analysis of relativity theory.

Core Contribution

Frequency interpretation of probability: probabilities are limiting frequencies of events in sequences. Pragmatic vindication of induction: even if induction cannot be deductively justified, it is the best strategy we can adopt. Philosophical analysis of space-time: distinguished coordinate definitions from empirical facts in relativity.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Developed two philosophies simultaneously — the context of discovery and the context of justification are logically distinct, and only the latter is a subject for philosophy.
  • Was dismissed from Berlin by the Nazis in 1933, emigrated to Turkey and then UCLA — one of many European philosophers who transformed American academic philosophy in the 1930s-40s.

Notable Works & Achievements

The Philosophy of Space and Time

Experience and Prediction

The Theory of Probability

The Rise of Scientific Philosophy

Historical Influences

Immanuel Kant Bertrand Russell Albert Einstein

Intellectual Lineage

Logical Empiricism Kantian Philosophy Neo-Kantianism

Contemporaries & Peers

Rudolf Carnap Moritz Schlick W. V. O. Quine

Minds Influenced

Wesley Salmon Rudolf Carnap Bas van Fraassen

Intellectual Posterity

Frequency Theory of ProbabilityPragmatic Justification of Induction

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Hans Reichenbach

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