Thomas Oberdan: Protocols, Truth and Convention, Amsterdam and Atlanta, Ga.: Rodopi, 1993

Abstract

The Vienna Circle’s debate about the linguistic form and epistemological import of scientific data statements—cor protocol sentence debate (PSD)—has long been viewed as a prime example of neopositivist folly. Thomas Oberdan’s study is explicitly revisionist: “the lessons that have been drawn from the controversy are of questionable value since they are founded on shallow conceptions of the opinions and viewpoints that figured decisively in the ensuing clash.” Rightly deploring this fact “since many of the issues addressed [in that debate] appear at the forefront of philosophical discussions today” (1), Oberdan provides an analysis of the PSD that succeeds in bringing alive issues of lasting interest.