author
Hans Reichenbach
1891–1953
A central figure in logical empiricism, this German philosopher helped shape modern thinking about science, probability, and the nature of space and time. After fleeing Nazi Germany, he continued that work in the United States, where his books reached a wide audience.
1 Audiobook
Relativitätstheorie und Erkenntnis Apriori
by Hans Reichenbach
About the author
Born in Hamburg on September 26, 1891, Hans Reichenbach became one of the key philosophers of science of the 20th century. He studied physics, mathematics, and philosophy, and is widely associated with the Berlin Circle, a group that brought scientific rigor and logical analysis into philosophy.
His work focused on some of the biggest questions raised by modern physics: relativity, causality, probability, and induction. Reichenbach wrote clearly about how scientific knowledge is built, and he helped popularize the distinction between the context of discovery and the context of justification. Among his best-known books are The Theory of Relativity and A Priori Knowledge, Experience and Prediction, and The Rise of Scientific Philosophy.
Forced to leave Germany after the Nazi rise to power, he taught first in Istanbul and later at the University of California, Los Angeles. He died in Los Angeles on April 9, 1953, but his influence continued through both his technical philosophical work and his gift for explaining science to general readers.