In view of the most recent political developments in Austria, especially the formation of the new federal government, we, the organizers of the HOPOS 2000 conference, undersigned below, declare:
 
 

We are greatly concerned about the consequences that the participation of the FPO in the Austrian government will have on civic culture in Austria and throughout the world, and, in particular, on research and teaching at the Austrian universities, which traditionally have advocated open-mindedness, international cooperation, tolerance and rational discussion of social conflicts and political alternatives. Our concern is shared by the rectors of the Austrian universities who, in a joint declaration of February 1, 2000 strongly warned against Austria’s isolation, emphasizing that "European and international cooperation is of paramount importance for top achievement and for recognition of science and art, teaching and research." Accordingly, the University of Vienna has released a separate "appeal for trust, tolerance, and dialogue" with reference to the current political situation in Austria. (http://www.univie.ac.at/plaedoyer.html).

The INSTITUTE VIENNA CIRCLE, founded in 1991 to cultivate and further develop the contributions made by the Vienna Circle to a scientific philosophy and world view, feels obliged to direct attention to the extreme danger posed by any intolerance and limitation of human freedom. The fate of the Vienna Circle is an example of how, under totalitarian conditions, this will affect academic work: a large number of scholars were forced to leave Austria or lost their lives. Already once, in the 1930s, the emergence of Fascism and National Socialism resulted in forced emigration and mass-destruction, especially in the dispersion of the members and followers of Logical Empiricism and the deterioration of scholarly life in Austria. Now that Austria, after great effort, has successfully reconnected with the international world of scholars, political developments should not once again lead to nationalism, racism and intellectual isolation.

HOPOS – the History of Philosophy of Science Working Group – was founded in 1992 in order to promote research on the history of philosophical reflection on science. The HOPOS 2000 conference is the third international congress of HOPOS and its first on European soil. The HOPOS steering and program committees are strongly committed to the principle that philosophical and scientific work stand opposed to political agendas founded upon intolerance.

In light of these concerns and in the spirit of international cooperation, the organizers of HOPOS 2000 have decided to retain Vienna as the conference location. The conference will be held in the spirit of Otto Neurath's international "republic of scholars", helping to strengthen the "other" – the democratic and cosmopolitan – Austria. We intend to address the recent political developments in Austria from a HOPOS perspective in a special session on the political and cultural contexts of 20th-century philosophy of science.

Our efforts are being supported by the UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA which, through CIR (formerly ZIIS), is a co-organizer of HOPOS 2000. In its mission statement the university has pledged "to consider the relationships among politics, power and scholarship both critically and self-critically, to represent the principles of democracy both internally and externally, to develop human and civil rights and to strive for their realization, to promote the understanding of cultures, nations and religions." In keeping with this mission statement the University of Vienna and the organizers of HOPOS 2000 strictly oppose any discrimination based on origin, race, color, gender and religion, sexual orientation, minority status, or differences in physical or mental abilities, not only in Austria but anywhere in the world.
 
 
 
 

Michael Heidelberger, Friedrich Stadler (Program chairs of HOPOS 2000), Vienna/Berlin, March 12, 2000, on behalf of the Institute Vienna Circle (IVC), the University of Vienna, Center for Interdisciplinary Research (CIR), the HOPOS Steering Committee and the HOPOS 2000 Program Committee

Visit the conference website at: http://ivc.philo.at and the HOPOS website at: http://scistud.umkc.edu/hopos/