LTT: Caterina Del Sordo - Was Early Carnap a Machian Neutral Monist?

About this event

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

LTT: Caterina Del Sordo

Friday, November 6th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST

Title: Was Early Carnap a Machian Neutral Monist?

Abstract:

In this talk, I defend the thesis that early Carnap is a Machian neutral monist. To support this thesis, I mediate between two opposing readings of the relation between Mach and early Carnap: Textor (2021), who advances a neutral monistic reading of Carnap’s Aufbau, and Banks (2003, 2014), who regards Carnap’s Aufbau and Mach’s neutral monism as divergent projects. I argue that the Aufbau does not satisfy the main conditions of Machian neutral monism and that the comparison between Mach and early Carnap with respect to ontological neutrality remains largely underdetermined. I further argue that Carnap’s pre-Aufbau works satisfy the main conditions of Machian neutral monism and support a reading according to which Mach and early Carnap are aligned in their account of ontological neutrality.

This talk will also be available live streamed on

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg .