The “Vienna Circle” („Wiener Kreis“)

The “Wiener Kreis” (“Vienna Circle”) was an extraordinary group of philosophers, mathematicians, natural scientists, and humanities scholars who met regularly between 1924 and 1936 to develop and to propagate a scientific world view. They attempted to combine questions of natural science with those of philosophy so as to create a new, professionally independent scientific theory. Vienna had become their center in the German-speaking world, since several of the circle’s representatives from Germany, such as Rudolf Carnap or Moritz Schlick – one of the first people to recognize the eminent philosophical importance of Einstein’s theory of relativity – also had been living and teaching here since 1922 and 1925, respectively. The scientists from the fields of philosophy, mathematics, and natural and social sciences that congregated in Vienna, from today’s point of view, represent one of the internationally most important philosophical movements of the 20th century.