Abstract:

In this talk, I take a closer look at Hans Reichenbach’s relation to metaphysics and work out some interesting parallels between his account and that of the proponents of inductive metaphysics, a tradition that emerged in the mid- and late 19th century and the early 20th century in Germany. It is in particular Hans Reichenbach’s conception of the relation between the natural sciences and metaphysics, as displayed in his treatment of the question of the existence of the external world, that shows some very interesting similarities with inductive metaphysics. I conclude that while there are certainly some respects in which Reichenbach’s logical empiricism is closer to the positions of the representatives of the Vienna Circle, it turns out that with regard to his views on metaphysics there is a greater affinity with the program of inductive metaphysics.

Speaker:

is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the DFG Research Group “Inductive Metaphysics: Elaboration, Application and Challenges” and works in the subproject “Inductive Metaphysics and Logical Empiricism”, which is located at the University of Münster. He earned his doctorate in philosophy (Dr. phil.) at the University of Münster in 2009 with a work on theories of epistemic justification and habilitated at the University of Münster in 2018 with a work on Kant’s conception of empirical laws of nature. His area of expertise is within epistemology, metaphysics and the philosophy of science, with historical focuses on Kant’s theoretical philosophy and inductive metaphysics in the 19th and early 20th centuries.