Wilhelm Neurath (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈnɔɪ̯ʀaːt] ⓘ; 31 May 1840 – 9 March 1901) was an Austrian political economist of the late nineteenth century. He was professor of economics at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences[1] in Vienna.

He was the father of Otto Neurath.

Early years

Neurath was born in Svätý Jur into poor but pious Jewish family. He left home to attend primary school between the ages of 9 and 12, but after only one year in secondary school, his parents were unable to continue to afford his education. They were also concerned that further study might erode his alignment with their religion. However, by supporting himself as an assistant teacher, he was able, from the age of thirteen, to continue his education, learning Latin by helping others to learn it.[2]

At the age of seven, he recalled, he was "deeply stirred" by his father's fanatical religious condemnations and sought solace in his own company wandering in the forests. Strengthened from his dreams about "God's ways", he turned to science, particularly physics and astronomy, his favourite book being Lagrange's Mécanique analytique (1788). Soon he added ethnology and philology to his range of interests. However, after providing mathematical training to a philosophical writer, he read Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and consequently embraced materialism and atheism.[2]

Career

After gaining his doctorate he became a Privatdozent at the Vienna University of Technology.

Publications

References

  1. ^ Uebel, Thomas E. (1995). "Otto Neurath's Idealist Inheritance: "The Social and Economic Thought of Wilhelm Neurath"". Synthese. 103 (1): 87–121. doi:10.1007/BF01063719. JSTOR 20118002. S2CID 44068209.
  2. ^ a b Neurath, edited by Marie; Cohen, Robert S. (1973). Empiricism and sociology : the life and work of Otto Neurath. [S.l.]: Reidel. pp. 2. ISBN 978-9027702593. ((cite book)): |first1= has generic name (help)

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