Papers by Richard Henry Schmitt
Wittgenstein says his thoughts in the Tractatus are not original, suggesting that others may have... more Wittgenstein says his thoughts in the Tractatus are not original, suggesting that others may have had similar thoughts. In formulating an alternative to the views of Bertrand Russell, he benefited from well-developed theories of the expression of scientific thought. Heinrich Hertz had proposed requirements for the representation of scientific facts. Hertz's mentor Hermann Helmholtz had discussed theoretical physics as the formation of general laws, confirmed by the creation of new instances of those laws. Ludwig Boltzmann dealt with an " atomism " of discrete cases, showing how to use combinatorics to calculate the probability of state distributions in thermodynamics. A generalized combinatoric view allows for the expression of discrete cases along with all their possible combinations, bounded by the tautology and the contradiction. In the end Wittgenstein shows that his own propositions must be nonsense, because they lie outside this boundary of expression: they try to show how language works from outside the world that language represents.
Ludwig Boltzmann’s work in theoretical physics exhibits an approach to the construction of theory... more Ludwig Boltzmann’s work in theoretical physics exhibits an approach to the construction of theory that he transmitted to the succeeding generation by example. It involved the construction of clear models, allowed more than one, and was not based solely on the existing facts, with the intent of examining and criticizing the assumptions that made each model work. This tacit program influenced physicists like Ehrenfest and Einstein and the philosopher Wittgenstein, suggesting ways that they used to make further advances.
The Polanyi Society Periodical, Jan 1, 2012
Mary Jo Nye’s book, _Michael Polanyi and His Generation_, argues that the social conception of sc... more Mary Jo Nye’s book, _Michael Polanyi and His Generation_, argues that the social conception of science originated in the scientific culture and political debates of the 1930s. As a historian, Nye covers the major themes of Polanyi’s work, from his science research to his interest in economics and the political organization of science, concluding with the book _Personal Knowledge_and its reception. She reflects on the paradoxical legacy of his work (largely opposed to planning) in contemporary programs of social constructivism. Perhaps the paradox can be resolved by attending to adapting, learning persons as illustrated by Polanyi himself.
Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, Jan 1, 2002
We can consider the impact of Michael Polanyi from various perspectives, because his concerns wer... more We can consider the impact of Michael Polanyi from various perspectives, because his concerns were so diverse. Here I discuss cases of his concrete influence on the study of humans and their creative, cognitive, and cultural achievements, especially in recent work focused on the tacit dimension: 1) John Gedo's review of the last quarter century of psychoanalytic monographs; 2) Stephen Toulmin's books on our liberation from modernism and the recovery of reasonableness and humanism; and 3) my own work on how Wittgenstein's skepticism about Russell's over-extension of logic shaped the ‘Tractatus’. In contrast to a more conceptualized view of Polanyi, I suggest returning to his crucial point: the recognition that we know in ways that “go without saying” in order to develop an empathic understanding of how humans organize and engage in their investigations and creative activities. As soon as we talk of doctrines in isolation, the “-isms” we use as shorthand, we weaken our contact with the immediate and tangible. Instead we need to dwell in the experience of our subject and consider how it is reflected in the work. We can take specific steps to accomplish this, attending to the ways that thought is shaped by experience.
The Polanyi Society Periodical, Jan 1, 2007
Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell …, Jan 1, 2007
Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell …, Jan 1, 2009
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Papers by Richard Henry Schmitt