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The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics within the Vienna Circle
Abstract
This article examines the possibility of knowing what exists and the limits of epistemology within the Vienna Circle’s physics-centered approach. Rather than addressing all members of the Circle, the study focuses on the views of prominent representatives, including Mach, Schlick, Neurath, Reichenbach, and Carnap. Although these thinkers differed on particular issues, they broadly agreed that knowledge of what exists requires definable limits, that these limits are established through correspondence with physics, and that only propositions verifiable through observation and experiment are meaningful. Within this framework, the limits of knowledge are defined epistemologically and are closely identified with physical reality. Physics thus corresponds both to a bounded universe and, more broadly, to an overarching conception of the unity of the sciences. This position opens the way to treating physics as the object, source, and criterion of truth concerning what exists. This approach, championed by the Vienna Circle, was systematized through “the scientific world-outlook” manifesto and institutionalized around the ideal of unified science. The central concern of this article is therefore to examine the ontological, epistemological, and methodological structure underlying the identification of limits imposed by correspondence in physics with the limits of epistemology through the principle of verifiability.
Keywords
Project Number
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Ethical Statement
This study was conducted in accordance with scientific and ethical principles. All data used in the research were obtained in compliance with ethical guidelines; no violations of scientific ethics, such as plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification, were committed. All sources used in this study have been cited completely and accurately.
References
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- Arslan, H. (2007). Epistemik cemaat: Bir bilim sosyolojisi denemesi (Epistemic community: An essay in the sociology of science). Paradigma Yayıncılık (Paradigma Publishing).
- Carnap, R. (1966). The Elimination of metaphysics through logical analysis of language. In A. J. Ayer (Ed.), Logical positivism (A. Rap, Trans.; pp. 60-81). The Free Press.
- Carnap, R. (1969). The logical structure of the world & pseudoproblems in philosophy (R. A. George, Trans.). University of California Press.
- Cassirer, E. (2005). Sembolik formlar felsefesi I: Dil (The philosophy of symbolic forms-I: Language) (M. Köktürk, Trans.). Hece Yayınları (Hece Publications).
- Erkıpçak, H. T. (2019). Giriş (Introduction). In H. T. Erkıpçak (Ed), Viyana Çevresi: Program yazıları (The Vienna Circle: Programmatic writings) (pp. 13-26). Pinhan Yayıncılık (Pinhan Publishing).
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Contemporary Philosophy
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Publication Date
August 30, 2026
Submission Date
May 1, 2026
Acceptance Date
July 6, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 14 Number: 2
APA
Aslan, S. (2026). The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics within the Vienna Circle. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 14(2), 1198-1224. https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.1941658
AMA
1.Aslan S. The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics within the Vienna Circle. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi. 2026;14(2):1198-1224. doi:10.18506/anemon.1941658
Chicago
Aslan, Sıracettin. 2026. “The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics Within the Vienna Circle”. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 14 (2): 1198-1224. https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.1941658.
EndNote
Aslan S (August 1, 2026) The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics within the Vienna Circle. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 14 2 1198–1224.
IEEE
[1]S. Aslan, “The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics within the Vienna Circle”, Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 1198–1224, Aug. 2026, doi: 10.18506/anemon.1941658.
ISNAD
Aslan, Sıracettin. “The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics Within the Vienna Circle”. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 14/2 (August 1, 2026): 1198-1224. https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.1941658.
JAMA
1.Aslan S. The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics within the Vienna Circle. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi. 2026;14:1198–1224.
MLA
Aslan, Sıracettin. “The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics Within the Vienna Circle”. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, vol. 14, no. 2, Aug. 2026, pp. 1198-24, doi:10.18506/anemon.1941658.
Vancouver
1.Sıracettin Aslan. The Limits of Knowing What Exists: On the Issue of Correspondence in Physics within the Vienna Circle. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi. 2026 Aug. 1;14(2):1198-224. doi:10.18506/anemon.1941658