Women Philosophers of Science in Central Europe: A Comparison Between Poland and Czechoslovakia in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

This paper concerns the contribution of female philosophers of science from Poland and Czechoslovakia in the first half of the twentieth century. They belonged to the first generations of women who were allowed to study at universities in those countries. The paper gives a brief introduction to the historical and sociological background to their study and further academic work. The main part, however, focuses on their contributions to philosophy. It lists the differences in their focus but also provides details of the similarities that can be found in their work, namely, the focus on the teaching of logic, the methodology of science, metaphysics in science, the laws of empirical sciences, determinism and the unity of science. Since there was no contact between these female philosophers in the interwar period, the similarities might stem from the fact that the philosophers in Czechoslovakia and Poland came from the same scientific tradition.