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Positivism: A Study in Human Understanding
Richard von Mises released this book "Kleines Lehrbuch des Positivismus" in 1939. The translated and revised English edition was released in 1956 as "Positivism: A Study in Human Understanding" and carried the following subtitle, “How the aims and attitudes of science apply to all the intellectual endeavors of mankind – whether in science, the arts, or ethics.”
The book has strong empiricist leanings, which found expression in the author's frequency interpretation of probability and his qualified endorsement of logical positivism (or logical empiricism).
It is fair to say that this book cannot compare with the rigorous writings of scholars like Rudolf Carnap or Hans Reichenbach, but it is doubtful that he aimed at such a work. His book is basically a plea for the scientific view of the world and how this approach applies to various topics. As such, his basic outlook on knowledge deserves study and recognition.
The book has strong empiricist leanings, which found expression in the author's frequency interpretation of probability and his qualified endorsement of logical positivism (or logical empiricism).
It is fair to say that this book cannot compare with the rigorous writings of scholars like Rudolf Carnap or Hans Reichenbach, but it is doubtful that he aimed at such a work. His book is basically a plea for the scientific view of the world and how this approach applies to various topics. As such, his basic outlook on knowledge deserves study and recognition.
404 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1939
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