\brief[Carnap an Neurath, Chicago, 23.~August 1945]%
{Rudolf Carnap an Otto Neurath, 23. August 1945}{August 1945}\labelcn{1945-08-23-Carnap-an Neurath}


\anrede{Dear Neurath,}

\haupttext{
I was very much discouraged by your letter of June 16\textsuperscript{th}. Not only because I see that my attempt to explain to you the reasons for dropping my name were entirely without success; more important, because my assurance that no personal question was involved and that I had not the least intention of offending you does not seem to have much effect. I thought I had extended to you the hand for reconciliation; instead of accepting it you continue reproaching me that I ``grieve'' you. Do you realize how distressing and disturbing your attitude towards me in these two letters has been to me? If you knew how many sleepless hours at night they have caused me, and how much inability to work in the daytime!

The remarks about you in my letter to Morris\IN{\morris}\index{Morris, Charles} were not at all meant as denunciation but merely an allusion in half-facetious terms (``volcano'') to facts obvious to everybody. The reason I wrote these remarks was, that I felt that Morris\IN{\morris}\index{Morris, Charles} had a share in the responsibility for the publication of an unsatisfactory part in our common work and \textkritik{I referred to this}\fnA{Hsl. Ersetzung von \original{the only excuse I could find for him was this}.} possible motive of his \textkritik{as an excuse for him}\fnA{Hsl. Einschub.}.

I think it would be best if we dropped this whole affair now and tried to start anew as best we can, instead of dragging it on indefinitely. However, since you ask so insistently what I meant when\index{Carnap, Rudolf!on Neurath grieving him} I spoke of your violent emotional reactions, I will mention the two occasions uppermost in my mind: your quarrel with Schlick\IN{\schlick}\index{Schlick, Moritz} about your ms., the second, your quarrel with me when I was in Prague and you sent the long wires from Moscow\fnA{\original{Moskow}}. I do not say that you alone were wrong on these two occasions; I admit that much was wrong in Schlick\IN{\schlick}\index{Schlick, Moritz}'s attitude in that affair, and I suppose an\fnA{\original{on}} objective judge could show me wrong things in my behavior too. The question now is not who was right or who wrong; probably nobody was entirely right but everybody had some good things to say for his side. The question now is only in what way you handled those differences once they had occurred, and whether or not there occurred violent emotional explosions. For me your present blindness about yourself is quite amazing: you speak at great length about the relatively mild tensions with Hahn\IN{\hahnhans}\index{Hahn, Hans} and seem to forget entirely those two occasions which belong to the most depressing experiences of my life. On those earlier occasions and on the present one where you reacted with a furious outburst to the withdrawal of my name, your violent reactions seemed to me entirely out of proportion to the causes by taking forms which were for me (and for Schlick\IN{\schlick}\index{Schlick, Moritz} too) indescribably depressing. You will remember how dear Olga\IN{\neuratholga}\index{Hahn-Neurath, Olga} afterwards, when we met in the ``Auge Gottes'', brought about a reconciliation between us. I felt greatly relieved; the reconciliation was for me, as I am sure it was for you too, not merely a diplomatic patch-work, but genuine and sincere. But you \neueseite{}\zzz may also remember the serious warning I expressed. I said, jokingly, that you had been an elephant in a china shop; but I added, seriously, that I thought I should not be able to stand another time your method of outbursts, threats, and ultimatums. Now please don't misunderstand me: I did not mind at all the demand you made in your cables for being given credit; you deserved credit and I was glad to give it to you. What I minded was only the violent emotional way with outbursts and moral pressure by which you induced me to give you what seemed to me an exaggerated amount of credit. I gave it for the sake of peace and preservation of friendship. But I resent to the present day that this one time in my life I was bullied by another man into saying something not in accord with my conviction.

Well, those were the two chief occasions. I am happy to say that no explosions quite of that magnitude have occurred since. But there were a number of occasions of minor tensions where not actual explosions occurred but where the threat, more or less implicit or explicit, of impending explosions compelled me or tried to compel me and others to give in against our convictions. You must understand that, although the outside peace is preserved, such things are resented by those involved.

Let us not go any longer into details of such things. I am quite sure that my way of behavior likewise often annoys or hurts people. (You are quite right in saying this. But in another point you are not right; I assure you that I do not take these things lightly. Whenever I notice something of this kind -- however, you may again be right in saying that often I fail to notice it -- I try hard to examine myself conscientiously. And if I find that I was wrong I do my best to right the wrong.) Let me only make this general remark about how I see your role in our movement\index{Carnap, Rudolf!on Neurath's role in the movement}. Your temper and way of acting is different from most of us; it is more energetic, active, driving, aggressive. Consequently, it has fallen to you to be the driving force in our movement and all its various activities. We all are grateful and appreciative for this; we all realize where our train would still be stuck if we hadn't had the big locomotive. But then there come some occasions, mostly of a minor nature, where we suffer somewhat from what seems to us an overexertion of emotion, temper, energy, will-power. We milder and more peaceful creatures complain in those moments about that over-exuberance and aggressiveness. We are apt to forget in those moments that whoever is aggressive as a lion in tackling difficult tasks for our cause, cannot be mild as a lamb in personal relations. (Here however\index{Carnap, Rudolf!on Neurath's role in the movement}, I am happy to testify in your favor that you are mostly a well-tamed lion; that you often check your stubbornness and yield to suggestions of others, or discipline your aggressiveness into politeness and friendliness; in short, that the lion often whispers when everybody present feels with trembling how he would like to roar). But even if we may forget it on those occasions, the next time we see the achievements of your activity, we all are glad and grateful for having the lion in our midst.


In a few weeks I hope to get, after long delay, the reprints of my two papers on probability. I wonder how all my friends, especially you, will react. I am aware that here I deviate from what has been so far the general view on probability in our movement. But I already \neueseite{}\zzz notice some changes in the attitude of Hempel\IN{\hempel}\index{Hempel, Carl G.}, Feigl\IN{\feigl}\index{Feigl, Herbert}, Nagel\IN{\nagel}\index{Nagel, Ernest}, and others, who begin to think that the frequency interpretation is not the only one. I am now, during the vacations, working again all the time on the probability book. It will become a large book, and it will take my time still for several years. But in writing it, I become more and more convinced by developing the consequences, that my general conception of probability is fundamentally sound and fruitful for scientific thinking, although the technical details of the system are of course tentative and in need of further improvement.

We are very happy about the change of the regime in England. We try not to be overoptimistic, since the new government has to solve so enormously difficult tasks. But still there is good reason for a cautious hope for the future. I have read some things by Laski\IN{\laski}\index{Laski, Harold} and find myself in agreement with most of his basic ideas. I should like very much to get your opinion about his views and also about his personality if you know him. I am disappointed that he does not seem to get an influential position in the new government; or do you think he has much influence even without an official post?

I just had the first letters from Switzerland in a long time. Walter\IN{\walterzuerich}\index{Walter, Emil J.} (Dr. Emil J. Walter, Frohburgstr. 95, Zürich 6) is asking after you -- he does not even know that you have safely escaped. Dürr\IN{\duerr}\index{Dürr, Karl} has written, likewise Tschichold\IN{\tschichold}\index{Tschichold, Jan}. Tarski\IN{\tarski}\index{Tarski, Alfred} just wrote, saying that he knows that his wife and children are still alive. Have you heard that Popper\IN{\popper}\index{Popper, Karl!appointment at London} has been appointed to a Readership in Logic and Scientific Method at the London School of Economics? I suppose, you have heard that Philipp Frank\IN{\frankphilipp}\index{Frank, Philipp!accident} had an accident -- this time, I believe, he was hit by a bus, and had to lie in bed for quite a while. But he wrote several months ago that he felt quite well again. Ina\IN{\ina}\index{Carnap, Ina} just had a letter from an American soldier in Vienna saying that her older brother and his Jewish wife are O.\,K. -- first word from Vienna, we or anyone else of our acquaintances has had. Hempel\IN{\hempel}\index{Hempel, Carl G.} wrote that he has had news from the mathematician Freudenthal\IN{\freudenthal} a former assistant of Brouwer's\IN{\brouwer}\index{Brouwer, L. E. J.} who had been in prison and in a camp. The Nagels\IN{\nagel}\IN{\nagelfrau}\index{Nagel, Ernest} are expecting a baby very shortly. -- That's all the news which I can think of that may interest you.

With best greetings and wishes to you and Mary\IN{\reidemeistermarie},
}

\grussformel{Yours,\\Carnap}


\ebericht{Brief, msl., 3 Seiten, \href{https://doi.org/10.48666/846789}{ON 223 (Dsl. RC 102-55-09)}; Briefkopf: msl. \original{Rudolf Carnap\,/\,University of Chicago\,/\,Chicago 37, Illinois} und \original{August 23, 1945}.}