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Bolzano, Brentano and Meinong: Three Austrian Realists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2010

Peter Simons
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Extract

The architect and publicist of the Vienna Circle Otto Neurath pointed out in the 1930s that the course taken by philosophy in the Habsburg Empire and the rump Republic of Austria differed markedly from that in the rest of the German-speaking world. Philosophy in Austria had, as he put it, spared itself the Kantian interlude. Until the temporary extinction of Austria in 1938 her philosophers, like her artists, musicians and writers, produced a disproportionately large amount of high quality creations. In philosophy this work was characterised by a rejection of all forms of idealism, an emphasis on psychological and linguistic analysis, respect for empirical science, a general mistrust of philosophical speculation, and stylistically by an eschewal of profound-sounding obscurity in favour of plain clarity of exposition and thought. Neurath's thesis was seconded and extended by Rudolf Haller, so that Barry Smith has termed the thesis of the distinctness of Austrian against German philosophy the Neurath–Haller Thesis.

Type
Papers
Information
Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements , Volume 44 , March 1999 , pp. 109 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy and the contributors 1999

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References

Annotated Select Bibliography

This is a preliminary guide to the sources and some of the secondary literature. I have divided it by philosopher and type except for the collections at the beginning.

GENERAL WORKS AND COLLECTIONS

Chisholm, R. M., ed., Realism and the Background of Phenomenology (Atascadero: Ridgeview Press, 1981). Originally published in 1960, this contains excerpts of Brentano and Meinong with other realists.Google Scholar
Nyiri, J. C., ed., From Bolzano to Wittgenstein: The Tradition of Austrian Philosophy (Vienna: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1986). Covers the Austrian tradition in general.Google Scholar
Simons, P. M.Philosophy and Logic in Central Europe from Bolzano to Tarski (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1992). Several essays on background and our protagonists as well as others.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, B.Austrian Philosophy: The Legacy of Franz Brentano (Chicago: Open Court, 1994). Originally separate essays but now smoothed together. The nearest to a monograph. Starts with Brentano.Google Scholar

Bolzano: COMPLETE EDITION

Bernard-Bolzano Gesamtausgabe. Stuttgart: Frommann-Holzboog. Founded by Winter, Eduard, current editor-in-chief Berg, Jan. There are five series: E: Editorial Principles and Bibliography; 1: Published Works; 2: Posthumous Writings; 3: Correspondence; 4: Documents (Biography, Iconography). Expected date of completion c. 2030. This is the definitive text and is marvellously produced, but it is expensive. The typographical and bracketing system of the Nachlass works (2) makes it possible to reconstruct the original text without making the trip to Prague.Google Scholar

INDIVIDUAL WORKS IN MODERN PRINTINGS

Paradoxien des Unendlichen (Hamburg: Meiner, 1975).Google Scholar
Bernard Bolzano's Grundlegung der Logik. Selections by Kambartel, F. from Wissenschaftslehre I–II. (Hamburg: Meiner, 2 1978).Google Scholar
A new selection from the Wissenschaftslehre by Künne, W. is in preparation, as is a reprint of Neuer Anti-Kant, ed. Přihonsky, F. (St. Augustin: Academia, forthcoming)Google Scholar

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS

The Paradoxes of the Infinite, trans. Steele, D. A. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1950).Google Scholar
The Theory of Science, Selected and translated by George, R.; (Oxford: Blackwell, 1972).Google Scholar
Theory of Science, Selected and edited by Berg, J., translated by Terrell, B., (Dordrecht: Reidel, 1973).Google Scholar

SECONDARY LITERATURE

Most secondary literature is in German. The only general introduction to Bolzano in English is

Wedberg, A.A History of Philosophy, vol. III From Bolzano to Wittgenstein (Oxford: Clarendon, 1984), ch. II.Google Scholar
Berg, J. and Morscher, E., ‘Bernard Bolzano – der österreichische Philosoph’, in International Bibliography of Austrian Philosophy for 1974/75 (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1986), pp. 15–65.Google Scholar
Berg, J., Bolzanos's logic (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1962). A classic monograph.Google Scholar
Sebestik, J.Logique et mathématique chez Bernard Bolzano (Paris: Vrin, 1992). Very comprehensive.Google Scholar
Philosophia Naturalis, 24, 4 (1987) is devoted to Bolzano. Mixed English and German.Google Scholar
Beiträge zur Bolzano-Forschung (Sankt Augustin: Academia Verlag). This series started in 1992 and in early 1998 numbered 8 small monographs; 2–4 appear annually, mostly in German.Google Scholar

BRENTANO

For reasons explained in the text Brentano's works are editorially complex. There is as yet no Brentano Critical Edition though one is in planning with Meiner Verlag. Correspondence and university lectures on metaphysics will lead the way.

INDIVIDUAL WORKS IN MODERN PRINTING

There are over 20 works, mainly published by Meiner Verlag in their Philosophische Bibliothek series. These go back to the work done before the war in Prague and Innsbruck by Kraus and Kastil. Here are some of the most important with dates of the most recent reprints. Unless otherwise stated the imprint is Hamburg: Meiner. Starred works are untranslated, for the others the translations are given below.

Von der mannigfachen Bedeutung des Seienden nach Aristoteles (Hildesheim: Olms, 1984). Brentano's doctoral dissertation, still highly readable.Google Scholar
Die Psychologie des Aristoteles, insbesondere seine Lehre vom nous poietikos (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1967). Brentano's Habilitationsschrift and the first appearance of intentional inexistence.Google Scholar
Psychologie vom empirischen Standpunkt, 2nd edn, ed. and annotated by Kraus, O., 1973.Google Scholar
Vom sinnlichen und noetischen Bewuβtsein, ed.Kraus, O., 1974. Based on material originally intended for Book II of the Psychologie.Google Scholar
Deskriptive Psychologie, ed Chisholm, R. M. and Baumgartner, W., 1982. Later psychology lectures.Google Scholar
Untersuchungen zur Sinnespsychologie, ed. Chisholm, R. M. and Fabian, R., 1979.Google Scholar
Zur Lehre vom richtigen Urteil, ed. Mayer-Hillebrand, F. (Bern: Franke, 1956).Google Scholar
Wahrheit und Evidenz, ed. Kraus, O., 1974. Essays and lectures documenting Brentano's move from a correspondence to an evidence theory of truth.Google Scholar
Vom Ursprung sittlicher Erkenntnis, ed. Kraus, O., 1969. Expanded from a lecture in Vienna, a short statement of Brentano's ethical views, which captured Moore's admiration when first translated in 1902.Google Scholar
Grundlegung und Aufbau der Ethik, ed. Mayer-Hillebrand, F., 1952. Based on Brentano's popular Vienna lecture course on practical philosophy.Google Scholar
Kategorienlehre, ed. Kastril, A., 1974. A compilation of late writings on ontology.Google Scholar
Philosophische Untersuchungen zu Raum, Kontinuum, Zeit und, ed. and annotated by Kastil, A., ed. and introduced by Korner, S. and Chisholm, R. M., 1976.Google Scholar
Die vier Phasen der Philosophie und ihr augenblicklicher Stand, 1968. Brentano's cyclic account of the history of philosophy. Also contains ‘Auguste Comte und die positive Philosophie’ of 1869.Google Scholar
Die Abkehr vom Nichtrealen ed.Mayer-Hillebrand, F., 1977. Papers and correspondence with Anton Marty setting out Brentano's opposition to abstract entities.Google Scholar
Vom Dasein Gottes 1968. Lectures from Würzburg and Vienna 1868–1891. Contains Brentano's proof from design for the existence of God.Google Scholar
Uber Ernst Machs ‘Erkenntnis und Irrtum’, ed.Chisholm, R. M. and Marek, J. C. (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1988). Contains Brentano's dictations and other notes about Mach, and the Brentano-Mach correspondence.Google Scholar

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS

On the Several Senses of Being in Aristotle, trans. George, R. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975).Google Scholar
The Psychology of Aristotle, trans. George, R. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977).Google Scholar
Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint, trans. Rancurello, A. C., Terrell, D. B. and McAlister, L. L. (London: Routledge, 1995).Google Scholar
Sensory and Noetic Consciousness, trans. McAlister, L. L. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981).Google Scholar
Descriptive Psychology, trans. Müller, B. (London: Routledge, 1995).Google Scholar
The True and the Evident, trans. Chisholm, R. M. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1961).Google Scholar
The Origins of Our Knowledge of Right and Wrong, trans. Chisholm, R. M. and Schneewind, E. H. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1969).Google Scholar
The Theories of Categories, trans. Chisholm, R. M. and Guterman, N. (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1981).Google Scholar
Philosophical Investigations on Space, Time and the Continuum, trans. Smith, B. (London: Croom Helm, 1988).Google Scholar
On the Existence of God, trans. Krantz, S. F. (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1987).Google Scholar

SECONDARY LITERATURE

The doyen of Brentano experts and commentators is Roderick Chisholm, who has also been very active in editing and translating.

Chisholm, R. M.Brentano and Meinong Studies (Amsterdam: Rodopi).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chisholm, R. M.Brentano on Intrinsic Value (Cambridge University Press, 1986).Google Scholar
Kastil, A.Die Philosophie Franz Brentanos. Eine Einführung in seine Lehre (Bern: Francke, 1951).Google Scholar
Chisholm, R. M. and Haller, R., eds, Die Philosophie Franz Brentanos (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1978) (= Grazer Philosophische Studien 5). Conference papers: mixed English and German.Google Scholar
McAlister, L. L. ed., The Philosophy of Brentano (London: Duckworth, 1976). A useful collection including personal reminiscences by Kraus, Stumpf and Husserl.Google Scholar
Brentano Studien is a yearbook first published in 1988. Most articles are in German or English.Google Scholar

Meinong: COMPLETE EDITION

Alexius Meinong Gesamtausgabe, ed. Haller, R., Kindiger, R., Chisholm, R. M. and Fabian, R.. In seven volumes and an Ergänzungsband containing papers from the Nachlass. Graz: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1968–78.Google Scholar

CORRESPONDENCE

Philosophenbriefe, ed. Kindinger, R.. Graz: Akademischer Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1965. A selection of Meinong's correspondence with philosophers including Russell.Google Scholar
Alexius Meinong und Guido Adler: Eine Freundschaft in Briefen, edited and introduced by Eder, G. J. (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995). The musicologist Adler studied with Meinong in Vienna and they remained friends until Meinong's death: the 266 letters cover the years 1877–1920, filling in much biographical and cultural detail. Astonishingly for us, the two friends always called each other ‘Sie’.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

MODERN PRINTING

The only pieces of Meinong's work cheaply available are:

Über Gegenstandstheorie – Selbstdarstellung, ed. Werle, J. M. (Hamburg; Meiner, 1988). Meinong's 1904 programme for object theory and the little autobiography he wrote in his last year.Google Scholar

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

‘The Theory of Objects’, in Realism and the Background of Phenomenolgy, trans. Chisholm, R. M., pp. 76–117.Google Scholar
On Emotional Presentation, trans. Schubert-Kalsi, M.-L. (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1972).Google Scholar
On Objects of Higher Order and Husserl's Phenomenology, ed. and trans. Schubert-Kalsi, M.-L. (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1978). Contains a translation of the higher-order objects article and Meinong's telegraphic criticisms of Husserl's Ideas.Google Scholar
On Assumptions, trans. Heanue, J. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983).Google Scholar

SECONDARY LITERATURE

DÖlling, E.Wahrheit suchen und Wahrheit bekennen, Alexius Meinong: Skizze seines Lebens. (Amsterdam: Rodopi, forthcoming). Fascinating account of Meinong's life and especially how he coped with blindness.Google Scholar
Findlay, J. N. Meinong's Theory of Objects and Values (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963). The indispensable guide.Google Scholar
Grossmann, R.Meinong (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974). Stresses the transition from Meinong's early ontological economy to his later big ontology.Google Scholar
Lambert, K.. Meinong and the Principle of Independence (Cambridge University Press, 1983). Examination by a contemporary logician of the key proposition of object theory that how a thing is is independent of whether it exists.Google Scholar
Lindenfeld, D.The Transformation of Positivism: Alexius Meinong and European Thought, 1880–1920 (Berkeley: University of California Press). Stresses Meinong's Pan-Germanic political views as well as his general position in the thought of the time.Google Scholar
Russell, B. ‘Meinong's Theory of Complexes and Assumptions‘, in Essays in Analysis, ed. Lackey, D. (London: Allen & Unwin, 1973), pp. 21–76. Russell's longest, most accurate and most appreciative piece on Meinong, reprinted here with two more critical reviews.Google Scholar
Russell, B.Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy (London: Allen & Unwin, 1919).Google Scholar
Russell, B.Theory of Knowledge. The 1913 manuscript, ed. Eames, E. R. (London: Allen & Unwin, 1984).Google Scholar
Schubert-Kalsi, M.-L. Meinong's Theory of Knowledge (Dordrecht: Nijhoff, 1987). Based on her Graz dissertation.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

COLLECTIONS

Haller, R., ed. Jenseits von Sein und Nichstein. Beiträge zur Meinong-Forschung. Graz: Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt. A very useful collection, mainly in German. Together with Chisholm, Rudolf Haller has been most instrumental in reviving and reprinting Meinong's writings and bringing them to wider attention.Google Scholar
Haller, R., ed. Meinong and the Theory of Objects (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995) (= Grazer Philosophische Studien 50. Commemorating 20 years of GPS, 50 volumes, and 75 years after Meinong's death, the 627 pages contain articles by almost everyone alive having anything to do with Meinong and his ideas. Some German, but now mainly English.Google Scholar

Bibliography

Psychologie und Philosophie der Grazer Schule, compiled by M. and Stock, W. G., International Bibliography of Austrian Philosophy (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1990). A monster volume of 968 pages on Meinong and his Graz School.Google Scholar