Albert E. Blumberg (August 10, 1906
– October 8, 1997) was an
American philosopher
This is a list of American philosophers; of philosophers who are either from, or spent many productive years of their lives in the United States.
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and
political activist
A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...
. He was an official of the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
for several years before joining the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
as a district leader.
Early life
Albert was born in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, to a middle-class
Litvak family. He graduated from
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
and then furthered his education by acquiring a master's degree from
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, studying at the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
, and receiving a doctorate from the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...
. While studying in Vienna he became attracted to the
Vienna circle
The Vienna Circle (german: Wiener Kreis) of Logical Empiricism was a group of elite philosophers and scientists drawn from the natural and social sciences, logic and mathematics who met regularly from 1924 to 1936 at the University of Vienna, ch ...
of
Logical Positivists
Logical positivism, later called logical empiricism, and both of which together are also known as neopositivism, is a movement in Western philosophy whose central thesis was the verification principle (also known as the verifiability criterion of ...
, founded by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
philosopher
Moritz Schlick
Friedrich Albert Moritz Schlick (; ; 14 April 1882 – 22 June 1936) was a German philosopher, physicist, and the founding father of logical positivism and the Vienna Circle.
Early life and works
Schlick was born in Berlin to a wealthy Prussian f ...
.
Professional life
Within philosophy Albert Blumberg was best known for having co-authored with
Herbert Feigl
Herbert Feigl (; ; December 14, 1902 – June 1, 1988) was an Austrian-American philosopher and an early member of the Vienna Circle. He coined the term " nomological danglers".
Biography
The son of a trained weaver who became a textile designer, ...
a paper which appeared in the
Journal of Philosophy
''The Journal of Philosophy'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal on philosophy, founded in 1904 at Columbia University. Its stated purpose is "To publish philosophical articles of current interest and encourage the interchange of ideas, e ...
entitled, "Logical Positivism: A New Movement In European Philosophy." For logical positivists the discipline of philosophy hinged on one task; to clarify the meanings of concepts and ideas, and what sort of statements really did have any "meaning" in the first place. There are only two distinctions of statements that have any meaning to logical positivists. The first involves
necessary truth
Logical truth is one of the most fundamental concepts in logic. Broadly speaking, a logical truth is a statement which is true regardless of the truth or falsity of its constituent propositions. In other words, a logical truth is a statement whic ...
s of logic, mathematics, and ordinary language. The second involves empirical propositions about the world around us that were not necessary truths, instead they are regarded as true with greater or lesser probability. In addition to being a student and professor of philosophy, Albert Blumberg also fought for economic and social reforms. In the year 1933 he joined the Maryland
Communist Party where he served for four years as the chair of the
Agitprop
Agitprop (; from rus, агитпроп, r=agitpróp, portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', " propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in Soviet Russia where it referred ...
Committee.
Political activism
In 1937 Blumberg resigned his faculty position at Johns Hopkins, publicly announced his party membership, and took on the created position of district administrative secretary for the Communist Party. Blumberg also ran for public office on several occasions, for example, Communist candidate for Mayor of Baltimore City, 1939. As well Blumberg was several times under suspicion by various governmental organizations for communist activities, becoming one of the first convicted under a provision of the 1940 Smith Act. During his senior years Blumberg remained politically active, although not in the communist party. He enjoyed somewhat more success as the Democratic Party district leader in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. He died at the age of 91 near his home in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
See also
*
American philosophy
*
List of American philosophers
This is a list of American philosophers; of philosophers who are either from, or spent many productive years of their lives in the United States.
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References
* Sarkar, Sahota, and Jessica Pfeifer. The Philosophy of Science: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 1. Taylor and Francis, 2006.
* Smith, Laurence, D. Behaviorism and Logical Positivism: A Reassessment of The Alliance. California: Stanford University press, 1986.
* Pederson, Vernon, L. The Communist Party In Maryland, 1919–1957. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2001
Google Books
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
20th-century American Jews
Communist Party USA politicians
Jewish socialists
Jewish philosophers
Jewish American academics
Maryland Democrats
Maryland socialists
Philosophers from Maryland
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Yale University alumni
University of Paris alumni
University of Vienna alumni
Johns Hopkins University faculty
1906 births
1997 deaths
American expatriates in France
Activists from Maryland
American expatriates in Austria
{{US-philosopher-stub