Joseph Henry Woodger

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Joseph Henry Woodger (born May 2, 1894 in Great Yarmouth , † March 8, 1981 ) was a British biology theorist , logician and philosopher, whose work in the field of philosophy of science was considered pioneering for several decades of the 20th century.

life and work

Joseph Henry Woodger was in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk and studied from 1911 to 1922 at University College London and then moved to the medical school of the Middlesex Hospital of London University . In 1947 he became a professor there and retired in 1959. The philosopher died in 1981.

Karl Popper considered Woodger, who was close to the Vienna Circle and contributed significantly to the establishment of the axiomatic method in biology, as one of the most influential scientific theorists of his generation.

Publications (selection)

  • Biological Principles. K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, London 1929.
  • with Alfred Tarski : The Axiomatic Method in Biology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK 1937.
  • The Technique of Theory Construction (= International Encyclopedia of Unified Science . Volume 2, No. 5). University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1939; 5th edition 1964.
  • Biology and Language, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK 1952.
  • with Ludwig von Bertalanffy : Modern theories of development: an introduction to theoretical biology. New York: Harper, New York 1962.

supporting documents

  1. ^ Karl Popper: Obituary: Joseph Henry Woodger. In: British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. Volume 32, No. 3, 1982, pp. 328-330.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Woodger, Joseph Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British philosopher of biology and theorist of science
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Great Yarmouth , Norfolk
DATE OF DEATH March 8, 1981