Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- 1 An Introduction to Logical Empiricism and the Unity of Science Movement in the Cold War
- 2 Otto Neurath, Charles Morris, Rudolf Carnap, and Philipp Frank: Political Philosophers of Science
- 3 Leftist Philosophy of Science in America and the Reception of Logical Empiricism in New York City
- 4 “Doomed in Advance to Defeat”? John Dewey on Reductionism, Values, and the International Encyclopedia of Unified Science
- 5 Red Philosophy of Science: Blumberg, Malisoff, Somerville, and Early Philosophy of Science
- 6 The View from the Left: Logical Empiricism and Radical Philosophers
- 7 The View from the Far Left: Logical Empiricism and Communist Philosophers
- 8 Postwar Disillusionment, Anti-Intellectualism, and the Values Debate
- 9 Horace Kallen's Attack on the Unity of Science
- 10 Creeping Totalitarianism, Creeping Scholasticism: Neurath, Frank, and the Trouble with Semantics
- 11 Frank's Neurathian Crusade: Science, Enlightenment, and Values
- 12 “A Very Fertile Field for Investigation”: Anticollectivism and Anticommunism in Popular and Academic Culture
- 13 Anticommunist Investigations, Loyalty Oaths, and the Wrath of Sidney Hook
- 14 Competing Programs for Postwar Philosophy of Science
- 15 Freedom Celebrated: The Professional Decline of Philipp Frank and the Unity of Science Movement
- 16 The Marginalization of Charles Morris
- 17 Values, Axioms, and the Icy Slopes of Logic
- 18 Professionalism, Power, and What Might Have Been
- References
- Index
8 - Postwar Disillusionment, Anti-Intellectualism, and the Values Debate
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- 1 An Introduction to Logical Empiricism and the Unity of Science Movement in the Cold War
- 2 Otto Neurath, Charles Morris, Rudolf Carnap, and Philipp Frank: Political Philosophers of Science
- 3 Leftist Philosophy of Science in America and the Reception of Logical Empiricism in New York City
- 4 “Doomed in Advance to Defeat”? John Dewey on Reductionism, Values, and the International Encyclopedia of Unified Science
- 5 Red Philosophy of Science: Blumberg, Malisoff, Somerville, and Early Philosophy of Science
- 6 The View from the Left: Logical Empiricism and Radical Philosophers
- 7 The View from the Far Left: Logical Empiricism and Communist Philosophers
- 8 Postwar Disillusionment, Anti-Intellectualism, and the Values Debate
- 9 Horace Kallen's Attack on the Unity of Science
- 10 Creeping Totalitarianism, Creeping Scholasticism: Neurath, Frank, and the Trouble with Semantics
- 11 Frank's Neurathian Crusade: Science, Enlightenment, and Values
- 12 “A Very Fertile Field for Investigation”: Anticollectivism and Anticommunism in Popular and Academic Culture
- 13 Anticommunist Investigations, Loyalty Oaths, and the Wrath of Sidney Hook
- 14 Competing Programs for Postwar Philosophy of Science
- 15 Freedom Celebrated: The Professional Decline of Philipp Frank and the Unity of Science Movement
- 16 The Marginalization of Charles Morris
- 17 Values, Axioms, and the Icy Slopes of Logic
- 18 Professionalism, Power, and What Might Have Been
- References
- Index
Summary
American culture's tolerance for Communists and “fellow-traveling” sympathizers fluctuated according to both domestic and international circumstances. Communism was broadly acceptable during the early 30s when federally run projects such as the WPA were benefitting many and when the Great Depression vividly posed the question (and nodded toward the negative) of whether capitalism was viable. It was also possible to be a Communist during the last half of the 1930s (when most logical empiricists arrived in America) because Moscow and the CP reached out to progressive and liberal organizations to form a united, “popular front” against Nazism and fascism. During the last years of the war, America and the Soviet Union were official allies and thus not communism but criticism of communism could be deemed unpatriotic.
Always in the background, however, and filling the gaps between these interludes were events and circumstances that eroded communism's popularity and acceptability among intellectuals and the broader public. Beginning with Stalin's rise to power in the late 1920s, increasing numbers loss respect either for the Communist Party or for the idea of Communism. For the many intellectuals who were devotees of Leon Trotsky, Stalin's persecution of Trotsky and other enemies and rivals was dismaying enough, even without the insulting show-trials through which Moscow asked the West to pretend that Stalin's consolidation of power was altruistic and justifiable. Equally damaging was the debacle of Soviet agrarian reforms in the early 30s (known as “five year plans”) that led to widespread starvation and death among Soviet peasants.
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- How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of ScienceTo the Icy Slopes of Logic, pp. 149 - 166Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005