W. W. Bartley III
W. W. Bartley III | |
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Died | February 5, 1990 Oakland, California, U.S. | (aged 55)
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William Warren Bartley III (October 2, 1934 – February 5, 1990), known as W. W. Bartley III, was an
Early life and education
Born in
Career
After his doctoral graduation, Bartley worked as a lecturer in logic in London. In the following years, he held positions at the Warburg Institute and the University of California, San Diego.[3] He began teaching at the University of Pittsburgh in 1963, and was appointed to his first full professorship there in 1969.
In 1973, he joined the
Relationship with Sir Karl Popper
Bartley and Popper had a great admiration for each other, partly because of their common stand against
Author and editor
Bartley published a biography of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, titled simply Wittgenstein, in 1973.[7] The book contained a relatively brief, 4–5 page treatment of Wittgenstein's homosexuality, relying mainly on reportage from the philosopher's friends and acquaintances. This matter caused enormous controversy in intellectual and philosophical circles; many perceived it as a posthumous "attack" on Wittgenstein.[8] Some foreign translations of the book, such as the first edition of the Spanish translation, omitted the "offending" material. In the second edition of the biography (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1985, pp. 159–97), Bartley answered the objections of critics, pointing out that Wittgenstein's periods of active homosexuality are verified by the philosopher's own private writings, including his coded diaries, and that extensive confirmation was also available from people who knew Wittgenstein in Vienna between the two World Wars, including ex-lovers. Bartley also considered, and rejected, the idea of a connection between the private life and the philosophy.[8]
Bartley also wrote a biography of
Bartley edited
Bartley extended Popperian epistemology in his book The Retreat to Commitment,[11] in which he describes pancritical rationalism (PCR), a development of critical rationalism and panrationalism. PCR attempts to work around the problem of ultimate commitment or infinite regress by decoupling criticism and justification.[12] A pancritical rationalist holds all positions open to criticism, including PCR, and never resorts to authority for justification.[12]
Parts of Popper's Realism and the Aim of Science, a book that Bartley edited, and the Addendum to the fourth edition of The Open Society and Its Enemies contain passages that are commonly interpreted as Popper's acceptance of Bartley's views. Mariano Artigas held that these were in fact written by Bartley himself.[1]: 23–25, 96
Death
Bartley died of bladder cancer on February 5, 1990, at his home in Oakland, California, after having been diagnosed with the disease in the middle of the preceding year.[4][15][16]
At the time of his death, Bartley had just finished his last book, Unfathomed Knowledge, Unmeasured Wealth: On Universities and the Wealth of Nations. Other works he was preparing at that time included writing a biography, and editing the collected works, of Friedrich Hayek. The latter was being completed after Bartley's death by his colleague and executor Stephen Kresge.[17] Also unfinished was a biography of Popper. Both biographies were in an advanced stage at the time of Bartley's death.[4]
Bibliography
- Bartley, William W. (1962). The Retreat to Commitment. New York: Alfred A. Knopf – via Internet Archive.
- Morality and Religion, 1971
- Carrol, Lewis (1977). Bartley, William W. (ed.). Lewis Carroll's Symbolic Logic. Harvester Press (John Spiers) – via Internet Archive.
- Wittgenstein, 1973, 1985
- Ludwig Wittgenstein e Karl Popper: maestri di scuola elementare, 1976
- Come demarcare la scienza della metafisica, 1983
- Werner Erhard, The Transformation of a Man: The Founding of est, 1978
- Popper, Karl R. (1982). Bartley, William W. (ed.). The Open Universe, An Argument for Indeterminism: From the Postscript of the Logic of Scientific Discovery. Vol. II. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield.
- Popper, Karl R. (1983). Bartley, William W. (ed.). The Realism and the Aim of Science: From the Postscript of the Logic of Scientific Discovery. Vol. I. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield.
- Popper, Karl R. (1985). Bartley, William W. (ed.). Quantum Theory and the Schism of Physics: From the Postscript of the Logic of Scientific Discovery. Vol. III. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield.
- Hayek, F.A. (1988). Bartley, William W. (ed.). The Collected Works of F.A. Hayek: The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism. Vol. I. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Radnitzky, Gerard; Bartley, William W., eds. (1988). Evolutionary Epistemology, Rationality, and the Sociology of Knowledge. La Salle, Illinois: Open Court.
- Bartley, William W. (1989). "The Market in Ideas and the Entrenchment of False Philosophies". In Meiners, Roger E.; Amacher, Ryan C. (eds.). The Federal Support for Higher Education: The Growing Challenge to Intellectual Freedom. New York: Paragon House. pp. 293-336 – via Internet Archive.
- Rehearsing a revolution – Karl Popper: A Life, 1989
- Unfathomed Knowledge, Unmeasured Wealth, 1990
- Hayek, F.A. (1991). Bartley, William W.; Kresge, Stephen (eds.). The Collected Works of F.A. Hayek: The Trend of Economic Thinking. Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Mariano Artigas: The Ethical Nature of Karl Popper's Theory of Knowledge (1999)
- ^ "About Bartley and the Institute". The Bartley Institute. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ^ Miller, David (1994). "Comprehensively Critical Rationalism: An Assessment: In Memory of Bill Bartley (1934-1990)". Critical Rationalism: A Restatement and Defence. La Salle, Illinois: Open Court. pp. 75- – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c Gerard Radnitzky: William W. Bartley III (1934–1990). Popper Letters 2:1 (1990)
- ^ Karl R. Popper: On the Sources of Knowledge and of Ignorance. Proceedings of the British Academy 46 (1960), p. 39–71, reprinted in Conjectures and Refutations.
- ^ Kiichi Tachibana: Mails exchanged between Prof. Tachibana and Prof. Agassi On the Kyoto Prize Workshop. Popper Letters 5:1 (November 17, 1992)
- ^ William Warren Bartley III, Wittgenstein, Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1973.
- ^ a b Madigan, Timothy J. "The Uses and Abuses of Philosophical Biographies". Philosophy Now 2012. Philosophy Now. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ISBN 978-1565071605.
- ISBN 978-0387256412.
- ^ Wettersten, John R. "Karl Popper and Critical Rationalism". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The IEP. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-0415992442.
- ^ Alan Ebenstein: Investigation: The Fatal Deceit Archived February 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Liberty 19:3 (March 2005)
- ^ Karl Popper, a Centenary Assessment Vol. 1: Life and Times, and Values in a World of Facts, p. 120
- ^ Stephen Kresge: On the Passing of W. W. Bartley III. Popper Letters 2:1 (1990)
- ^ anonymous; Obituary: "William W. Bartley 3d, Research Fellow, 55", New York Times February 22, 1990 (corrected February 24, 1990).
- ^ Caldwell, Bruce J. "Review of "Friedrich Hayek: A Biography"". The Independent Review. Independent Institute. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- "KLI Theory Lab – Authors". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2006., William Warren Bartley III (1934–1990)
- clublet.com, "Often referred to on Why simply as Bartley."
- about the philosophers, Bill Bartley (1934–1990)
- Pancritical Rationalism: An Extropic Metacontext for Memetic Progress Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- The Bartley Institute Archived March 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (by Stephen Kresge, Bartley's executor)
- Bartley discussing The Burghers of Calais with Popper, on Stanford campus on YouTube
- Works by or about W. W. Bartley III at Internet Archive