Author	Menger, Karl. author
Title	Reminiscences of the Vienna Circle and the Mathematical Colloquium [electronic resource] / by Karl Menger ; edited by Louise Golland, Brian McGuinness, Abe Sklar
Imprint	Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands : Imprint: Springer, 1994
Connect to	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1102-7
Descript	XXVI, 244 p. online resource

Karl Menger was born in Vienna on January 13, 1902, the only child of two gifted parents. His mother Hermione, nee Andermann (1870-1922), in addition to her musical abilities, wrote and published short stories and novelettes, while his father Carl (1840-1921) was the noted Austrian economist, one of the founders of marginal utility theory. A highly cultured man, and a liberal rationalist in the nineยญ teenth century sense, the elder Menger had witnessed the defeat and humiliation of the old Austrian empire by Bismarck's Prussia, and the subsequent establishment under Prussian leadership of a militaristic, mystically nationalistic, state-capitalist German empire - in effect, the first modern "military-industrial complex. " These events helped frame in him a set of attitudes that he later transmitted to his son, and which included an appreciation of cultural attainments and tolerance and respect for cultural differences, comยญ bined with a deep suspicion of rabid nationalism, particularly the German variety. Also a fascination with structure, whether artistic, scientific, philosophical, or theological, but a rejection of any aura of mysticism or mumbo-jumbo accompanying such structure. Thus the son remarked at least once that the archangels' chant that begins the Prolog im Himmel in Goethe's Faust was perhaps the most viii INTRODUCTION beautiful thing in the German language "but of course it doesn't mean anything

I The Historical Background -- II The Cultural Background -- III The Philosophical Atmosphere in Vienna -- IV Why the Circle invited me. The Theory of Curves and Dimension Theory -- V Vignettes of the Members of the Circle in 1927 -- VI Reminiscences of the Wittgenstein Family -- VII Ludwig Wittgensteinโs Austrian Dictionary -- VIII Wittgensteinโs Tractatus and the Early Circle -- IX On the Communication of Metaphysical Ideas. Wittgensteinโs Ontology -- X Wittgenstein, Brower, and the Circle -- XI Discussions in the Circle 1927โ30 -- XII Poland and the Vienna Circle -- XIII The United States 1930โ31 -- XIV Discussions in the Circle 1931โ34 -- XV The Circle on Ethics -- XVI Moritz Schlickโs Final Years -- Memories of Kurt Gรถdel -- Index of Names

1. History
2. Philosophy and science
3. Philosophy and social sciences
4. Mathematical logic
5. History
6. History
7. general
8. Philosophy of the Social Sciences
9. Mathematical Logic and Foundations
10. Philosophy of Science