Bernard Bolzano: Theory of Science

by Rusnock, Paul; Rolf, George

• ISBN13: 9780199684380
• ISBN10: 0199684383
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-05-27
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This is the first complete English translation of Bernard Bolzano's four-volume Wissenschaftslehre or Theory of Science, a masterwork of theoretical philosophy. Bolzano (1781-1848), one of the greatest philosophers of the nineteenth century, was a man of many parts. Best known in his own time as a teacher and public intellectual, he was also a mathematician and logician of rare ability, the peer of other pioneers of modern mathematical logic such as Boole, Frege, and Peirce. As Professor of Religion at the Charles University in Prague from 1805, he proved to be a courageous and determined critic of abuses in church and state, a powerful advocate for reform. Dismissed by the Emperor in 1819 for political reasons, he left public life and spent the next decade working on his "theory of science," which he also called logic. The resulting Wissenschaftslehre, first published in 1837, is a monumental, wholly original study in logic, epistemology, heuristics, and scientific methodology. Unlike most logical studies of the period, it is not concerned with the "psychological self-consciousness of the thinking mind." Instead, it develops logic as the science of "propositions in themselves" and their parts, especially the relations between these entities. It offers, for the first time in the history of logic, a viable definition of consequence (or deducibility), and a novel view of probability. Giving constant attention to Bolzano's predecessors and contemporaries, with particular emphasis on Kant, this richly documented work is also a valuable source for the history of logic and philosophy. Each volume of the edition is accompanied by a detailed introduction, which alerts the reader to the historical context of Bolzano's work and illuminates its continued relevance.

Author Biography

Bernard Bolzano (1781-1848) made outstanding contributions to many areas of philosophy as well as to mathematics and theology. In mathematics, he is best known for his work in analysis and the foundations of mathematics, which included rigorous definitions of continuity and convergence as well as the construction of a continuous, nowhere-differentiable function and anticipations of Cantor's set theory. His work in logic, presented in the Theory of Science, marks a new beginning in the history of the discipline. Among his discoveries, the most noted are his definition of deducibility, which anticipates Tarski's definition of logical consequence, and his notion of logical analyticity, which closely resembles later concepts of logical truth. On account of these and many other accomplishments, Bolzano is now widely recognised as one of the great philosophers of the nineteenth century.

Rolf George is Professor emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Paul Rusnock is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

Table of Contents

VOLUME I: Theory of Fundamentals and Theory of Elements (Part I)
INTRODUCTION
BOOK ONE: THEORY OF FUNDAMENTALS
PART I: Of the Existence of Truths in Themselves
PART II: Of the Recognizability of Truth
BOOK TWO: THEORY OF ELEMENTS
PART I: Of Ideas in Themselves
VOLUME TWO: Theory of Elements (Part II)
BOOK TWO: THEORY OF ELEMENTS (continued)
PART II: Of Propositions in Themselves
PART III: Of True Propositions
PART IV: Of Inferences
VOLUME THREE: Theory of Knowledge and The Art of Discovery
BOOK THREE: THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
PART I: Of Ideas
PART II: Of Judgements
PART III: Of the Relation between our Judgements and Truth
PART IV: Of Certainty, Probability, and Confidence in Judgements
BOOK FOUR: THE ART OF DISCOVERY
PART I: General Rules
PART II: Particular Rules
VOLUME FOUR: Theory of Science Proper
BOOK FIVE: THEORY OF SCIENCE PROPER
PART I: General Rules
PART II: On the Determination of the Extensions of the Sciences
PART III: On the Choice of a Class of Readers for a Treatise
PART IV: On the Propositions which Should Appear in a Treatise
PART V: On the Divisions of a Treatise
PART VI: On the Order in which the Propositions Belonging to a Treatise Should Appear
PART VII: Theory of Signs or, On the Signs Used in or Recommended by a Treatise
PART VIII: How the Author of a Treatise Should Behave
PART IX: On Scientific Books that are not Genuine Treatises