ABSTRACT
As the manifesto of the Vienna Circle highlights, several logicians and philosophers of mathematics had a decisive influence on it, especially Russell, Hilbert, and Wittgenstein. This chapter considers themes associated with these three names that form a crucial part of the background, the early rise, and the legacy of logical empiricism. This chapter looks first into the early interest in logic among the members of the first Vienna Circle, as well as into Schlick’s and Carnap’s early conceptions of logic and the foundation of mathematics, before an account of related debates in the early Vienna Circle is given. The related views of the Berlin Group will also be addressed.
