[PhilPhys] FRIDAY Lunch Time Talk - Mousa Mohammadian - Peirce Disappears: C.S. Peirce and Early Logical Empiricism

[Center for Phil Sci]

The Center for Philosophy of Science invites you to join us for our Lunch Time Talk.  Attend in person, Room 1117 on the 11th floor of the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh or visit our live stream on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.

This talk is presented by The Center for Philosophy of Science's Visiting Fellow, Mousa Mohammadian. If you would like information about Fellowships for the 2025-2026 academic year, please see the bottom of this notice.

LTT: Mousa Mohammadian

Friday, April 12th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT


This talk will also be available live streamed on: Zoom at https://pitt.zoom.us/j/94576817686


Title: Peirce Disappears: C.S. Peirce and Early Logical Empiricism


Abstract:  Scholars of the history of philosophy of science read and hear a lot about Duhem, Mach, Poincaré, and the members of the Vienna Circle. C.S. Peirce, however, is not generally considered a canonical figure in the history of philosophy of science. But in the early years of the logical empiricist movement in the United States, Peirce received a warm reception from prominent representatives, proponents, and sympathizers of logical empiricism including Charles Morris, Ernst Nagel, Herbert Feigl, Phillip Frank, and W.V.O. Quine. This reception was short-lived though and Peirce gradually disappeared from the mainstream philosophy of science while logical empiricism turned into a formidable movement.

In this talk, I begin by discussing examples of the early reception of Peirce’s philosophy in the works of Morris, Nagel (and his student Justus Buchler), Feigl, and Frank. I show the variety of topics (including logic, probability theory, theories of truth and meaning, and social dimensions of science) in which Peirce received a warm (though not uncritical) reception. We see that the engagements with his works are persistent from the late 1920s to the 1950s and get more refined over time. I then provide some explanations for the eventual marginalization of Peirce in mainstream philosophy of science.




Information about 2025 - 2026 Fellowships

 If you would like information about our Fellowships please visit our websites. We will be accepting applications this Fall.


Postdoctoral Fellowships: https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/postdoc-fellowships/program-overview/


Visting Fellows Program: https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/visiting-fellows/program-overview/



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