Universität Wien
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180043 SE The Vienna Circle and Religion (2026S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work

Notice from the Director of Studies (SPL) Philosophy:

Submitting texts written entirely or partially by an AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT) as proof of academic performance (e.g., a seminar paper) is only permitted if this has been explicitly approved as a possible working method by the course instructor. Even in such cases, directly or indirectly cited passages must be clearly indicated with proper references.

To verify authorship of a submitted written assignment, the course instructor may require you to complete a graded oral discussion (plausibility check).
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

The seminar will be held in English, unless all participants speak German (in which case, all participants are free to choose whether they wish to speak and write in English or German).

  • Wednesday 11.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 18.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 25.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 15.04. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 22.04. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 29.04. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 06.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 13.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 20.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 27.05. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 03.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 10.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 17.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Wednesday 24.06. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The seminar will be held in English, unless all participants speak German (in which case, all participants are free to choose whether they wish to speak and write in English or German).

This course deals with the relationship between the logical empiricists of the Vienna Circle and religion. Given the standard image of the Vienna Circle as a strong anti-metaphysical group and non-religious philosophical and intellectual movement, it can be surprising that several members of the famous Moritz Schlick-Circle - e.g., the left wing with Rudolf Carnap, Otto Neurath, Philipp Frank, Edgar Zilsel, but also Schlick himself - dealt with the dualisms of faith/belief and knowledge, religion and science -- despite, or because of their non-cognitivist commitment to the values of Enlightenment. A remarkable figure was the philosopher and Rabbi Joseph Schächter, who wrote explicitly on religion and philosophy after the linguistic turn. The famous logician Kurt Gödel wrote on theology and the ontological proof of God in his so far unpublished notebooks.

The aim of the seminar is to familiarise participants with these lesser-known aspects of the Vienna Circle.

The course is structured as a seminar in the traditional sense, i.e. participants give presentations and write a longer seminar paper at the end.

Assessment and permitted materials

- presentation
- seminar paper (approx. 10 pages)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Requirements for a positive grade:
- attendance (max. 2 absences)
- seminar paper
- presentation
- at least 50% of the points

Maximum points available:
seminar paper: 70 points
presentation: 30 points

Grading scale:
1 (very good) 100-90 points
2 (good) 89-81 points
3 (satisfactory) 80-71 points
4 (sufficient) 70-60 points
5 (insufficient) 59-0 points

Examination topics

The presentation must be presented and the paper must be written. :-)

Reading list

Esther Ramharter (Ed.): The Vienna Circle and Religion. Springer 2022.
Josef Schächter: Philosophical Writings and Documents in the Context of the Vienna Circle, Vol. I and II, ed. by Esther Heinrich and Friedrich Stadler. Springer 2025.
(Anne Siegetsleitner: Ethik und Moral im Wiener Kreis. Böhlau 2014.)

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 27.02.2026 09:46