Guide to the Herbert Feigl Papers, 1916-1973 ASP.1997.01

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Herbert Feigl Papers
Creator
Feigl, Herbert
Collection Number
ASP.1997.01
Extent
24 microfilm_reels
Date
1916-1973
Date
1930-1973
Abstract
Herbert Feigl was born in 1902 in Reichenberg, Bohemia, and was one of the leading proponents of logical positivism and a member of the Vienna Circle. He also made significant contributions in the field of contemporary materialism and made extensive use of advances in physiological psychology. The papers comprise correspondence and manuscripts including exchanges with Bar-Hillel, Carnap, Einstein, Frank, Hempel, Hook, Neurath, Oppenheim, Reichenbach, Russell, and other 20th century thinkers. Included are also notes and lectures outlines as well as an extensive collection of his published and unpublished papers that discuss social issues and philosophical problems in psychology.
Location
The microfilm is stored in Microfilm-Cabinet 23.
Language
English .
Author
Stephen C. Wagner, revised by Brigitta Arden.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Biography

Herbert Feigl was born in 1902 in Reichenberg, Bohemia. He studied mathematics, physics, psychology, and philosophy at the Universities of Munich and Vienna. In 1927, he received his doctorate from the University of Vienna, for a dissertation on the foundations of probability and induction in the exact sciences.

From 1925 to 1930, Feigl was an important member of the Vienna Circle. It was then that he came into close association with Carnap, Frank, Schlick, Reichenbach, Waismann, Wittgenstein, and many other leading philosophers of the time. Feigl lectured in astronomy and in the philosophy of science at the Vienna People's Institute from 1927 to 1930. In 1929, his book, Theorie und Erfahrung in der Physik (Theory and Experience in Physics), won approval from Albert Einstein. The following year Feigl went to Harvard University on an International Rockefeller Fellowship to work on the logical foundations of physics.

In 1931, Feigl joined the Philosophy Department at the University of Iowa as a lecturer, and in 1941 he accepted an appointment as Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. In September 1953, the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science was established under a grant from the Louis W. and Maud Hill Family Foundation. Feigl was appointed director of the Center, a position he held until his death in 1989.

Feigl was one of the leading proponents of logical positivism. He also made significant contributions in the field of contemporary materialism. Unlike many others, he considered materialism a serious philosophical theory. In his work on the central-state theory of materialism, Feigl made extensive use of advances in physiological psychology.

Scope and Content Notes

An extensive part of the papers consists of correspondence and manuscript drafts. Feigl's correspondence includes exchanges with Bar-Hillel, Carnap, Einstein, Frank, Hempel, Hook, Neurath, Oppenheim, Reichenbach, Russell, and other 20th century thinkers. The correspondence not only provides valuable information on Feigl's views, but also serves as important documentation of others' philosophical development. The collection contains manuscripts of important articles by Born, Carnap, Oppenheim, Popper, Reichenbach, Stegmüller, and others. In addition, there are notes, lectures and lecture outlines. Feigl's notes cover various topics in the natural sciences, mathematics, and philosophy. Many of his published and unpublished lectures and papers deal with social issues and philosophical problems in psychology.

Copyright

The University of Minnesota owns intellectual property rights to the Herbert Feigl Collection. All patrons wishing to quote from or publish material in the collection must secure that University's permission to do so. For details, contact: Director, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, 309 Ford Hall, 224 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 or 612-625–6635, 612-626–8380 (fax), mcps@maroon.tc.umn.edu.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into six series:

Series I: Biographical Material

Series II: Academic and Professional Activities

Series III: Correspondence

Series IV: Writings by Feigl

Series V: Writings by Others

Series VI: Offprints by Others

Existence and Location of Originals

The original Feigl collection is housed at the University of Minnesota. Researchers should note that the University of Minnesota reserves all rights to the collection and must approve all requests to quote from or publish materials. The Archives of Scientific Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh and the Philosophisches Archiv at the University of Konstanz, Germany, possess microfilms of the entire Feigl Collection available for use by researchers. This arrangement is made possible by a cooperative agreement between the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Konstanz, with the generous support fo the Minnesota Center for the Philosophy of Science.

Acquisition Information

Under a collaborative agreement, the University of Pittsburgh archivally processed the original Feigl Papers in 1990. The papers then returned to their home repository at the University of Minnesota Archives. In exchange, the University of Pittsburgh received a microfilm copy of the papers for deposit at Pitt's Archives of Scientific Philosophy.

Preferred Citation

Herbert Feigl Papers, 1916-1973, ASP.1997.01, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Previous Citation

Herbert Feigl Papers, 1916-1973, ASP.1997.01, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Related Materials

Vice Chancellor for the Academic Disciplines, Charles Peake Administrative Records, 1958-1967, UA.3.2.1, University Archives, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System, Box 14A, Folder 132A.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • University of Minnesota. Department of Philosophy
    • Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science
    • Institute for the Unity of Science
    • American Philosophical Society

    Personal Names

    • Stegmüller, Wolfgang
    • Skinner, B. F. (Burrhus Frederic)
    • Sellars, Wilfrid
    • Scriven, Michael
    • Russell, Bertrand
    • Rozeboom, William W. (William Warren)
    • Reichenbach, Hans
    • Putnam, Hilary
    • Popper, Karl R. (Karl Raimund)
    • Oppenheim, Paul
    • Grünbaum, Adolf
    • Frank, Philipp
    • Feyerabend, Paul
    • Everett, Millard S. (Millard Spencer)
    • Einstein, Albert
    • Carnap, Rudolf, 1891-1970
    • Buck, Roger C.
    • Brodbeck, May
    • Bradley, Raymond
    • Born, Max
    • Feigl, Herbert -- Archives
    • Bar-Hillel, Yehoshua
    • Gunderson, Keith
    • Hanson, Norwood Russell
    • Hempel, Carl G. (Carl Gustav)
    • Hook, Sidney
    • Koch, Sigmund
    • Maxwell, Grover
    • McDiarmid, E. W. (Errett Weir)
    • McMullin, Ernan
    • Meehl, Paul E. (Paul Everett)
    • Mehlberg, Henry
    • Nagel, Ernest
    • Neurath, Otto

    Genres

    • Correspondence

    Other Subjects

    • Logical positivism
    • Personal papers
    • Science -- Philosophy
    • Philosophy
    • Mind and body

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