Austrian Minds: Vienna Circle and Hans Kelsen

Academic Paper from the year 2018 in the subject Law - Philosophy, History and Sociology of Law, grade: A-, , course: Philosophy of Science, language: English, abstract: This Article seeks to explain Kelson¿s pure theory of law and his whole contribution to legal positivism was influenced and bolstered by his early stay in Vienna, even though the foundational stone laid by Kelsen on legal positivism is clearly distinguished from logical positivism propounded by the pioneers of Vienna circle, in this article I argue the intellectual uplifting Kelsen underwent during the youth he spent in Vienna had left a hallmark in his thoughts. Furthermore this article illustrates how both logical positivism and legal positivism grew parallel in a same time period during two great wars.

Central argument I seek to explain in this article is to demonstrate Hans Kelsen as a legal modernist and how Vienna circle made impacts upon his thoughts.