History

History of the Department and Its Disciplines

Philosophical, theoretical, and historical exploration of the natural sciences has a deep tradition at Prague University. This tradition is closely associated with the multifaceted influence of Ernst Mach (1838–1916), a theoretical physicist, physiologist, philosopher, and author of the first comprehensive and classic history of mechanics ("Die Mechanik in ihrer Entwicklung," 1883). The current Department of Philosophy and History of Natural Sciences was effectively established with the founding of the Faculty of Science at Charles University in 1920. The department's inception is inseparably linked with the figure of zoologist, historian of biology, and philosopher Professor Emanuel Rádl (1873–1942), one of the most prominent intellectual figures in the interwar Czechoslovak Republic. The discipline developed in parallel with its international establishment and institutionalization but was forcibly suppressed at the faculty for political reasons starting in 1950. Its revival under free conditions after 1989 drew on its development in academic, non-university institutions, and on unofficial platforms. The department's revival in 1990 is associated with the name of molecular geneticist and philosopher Professor Zdeněk Neubauer (1942–2016), who was connected with unofficial Prague philosophy and cultural dissent during the normalization period.

Thanks to the contributions of these two founding figures, the department is still referred to as the "Rádl" or "Neubauer" department (see also Collections). The detailed history of the department, along with its associated disciplines and other significant figures, is presented below in the following sections:

I. Founding and Influence of Emanuel Rádl
II. Other Key Figures from 1920–1939
III. Matoušek’s Postwar Revival and Its End
IV. Continuities During the Time of Oppression until 1989
V. Revival after the Velvet Revolution

I. Founding and Influence of Emanuel Rádl

Emanuel Rádl was habilitated at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Charles-Ferdinand University in 1904 in the field of physiology of the sensory organs of lower organisms, a field that was expanded two years later to include the history of biological theories. In the meantime, he became renowned as the creator of a new field in the international context ("Geschichte der biologischen Theorien," 1905, 1909, 1913; in Czech, "Dějiny biologických teorií novověku," I–II, 2006). He was also a member of the first editorial board of the international journal for the history of science, Isis, founded in 1913 by George Sarton (1884–1956). He could only be appointed as a full professor of natural philosophy at Charles University after the war in 1919, due to his political affiliation as a supporter of T.G. Masaryk. The uncertain placement of his position was resolved with the establishment of the Faculty of Science, where a Seminar for Methodology and History of Natural and Exact Sciences was established under Rádl's leadership. Meanwhile, at the German University in Prague, the field of natural philosophy was simultaneously represented by philosopher Christian von Ehrenfels (1859–1932), a follower of F. Brentano and Masaryk, and later by prominent figures of the Vienna Circle of Logical Positivism, theoretical physicist Philipp Frank (1884–1966) and philosopher Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970).

At a time when scientific research and teaching were concentrated in large university institutes, Rádl's Seminar represented, by today's standards, a smaller department, further divided into two sections: natural and exact sciences. Rádl was the head of the section for methodology and the history of natural sciences. His university teaching and scholarly work during this period are notably represented by his monograph Modern Science. Its Essence, Methods, Results (1926). Rádl's university lectures and discussion forums, particularly in the early 1920s, were widely attended by students from other faculties (especially the Faculty of Philosophy) and often became public events or pillars of many other discussions. As a recognized scientific figure and publicly engaged philosopher, associated with societies like the Philosophical Union or the Academic YMCA, he also gained fame as the main organizer and president of the VIII International Congress of Philosophy, which took place in Prague in September 1934. He collaborated with his German colleagues in Prague on this event, where the Vienna Circle group made a significant appearance, leading to the establishment of the Prague Philosophical Circle, marking the beginning of the phenomenological tradition in the region. Rádl's long-term illness gradually excluded him from active teaching, and he was officially retired in March 1939.

II. Other Key Figures from 1920–1939

The second prominent figure in the new department was Professor Karel Vorovka (1879–1929), head of the section for logic and the philosophy of exact sciences. Vorovka studied mathematics and physics, habilitated in 1921 based on his work Reflections on Concepts in Mathematics (1917), and focused on philosophical questions of mathematics and natural sciences, issues of conventionalism, probability, causality, and the theory of relativity. He became the unofficial head of the so-called younger philosophical generation, aligned with the philosophy of creative intuition and theistic panpsychism (Skepticism and Gnosis, 1921). Vorovka was appointed a full professor of natural philosophy in 1924 based on his work Kant’s Philosophy in Its Relations to the Exact Sciences (1924), but his promising career was cut short by his untimely death. Another unique researcher at this department from its inception was the historian of exact sciences, particularly mathematics, Professor Quido Vetter (1881–1960). Initially, as a docent based on his work On the Methodology of the History of Mathematics at the University (1918) and from 1924 as an associate professor of the history of mathematics at the Faculty of Science, Vetter was the first university teacher of this field in the country (later also teaching at the Czech Technical University). He focused mainly on ancient mathematics (Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, and Arabic), the history of Czech mathematics, and also the history of astronomy (e.g., How Calculations and Measurements Were Done at the Dawn of Culture, 1926). His journey into the international community of historians of science is documented by his admission in 1929 as a member of the "Académie internationale d’Histoire des Sciences." In the 1930s, he served as its president for three years, culminating in the organization of the IV International Congress of the History of Science in 1937 in Prague. Vetter's activities gave rise to all the important post-war institutions in the field of the history of natural sciences in the country.

In 1927, Associate Professor Otakar Matoušek (1899–1994) joined the department, having habilitated in geology in 1925 but later devoted himself to the history of natural sciences, particularly geology and medicine (History of Czechoslovak Geology, 1935). In 1934, he was appointed an associate professor of methodology and the history of natural sciences at the faculty, but he was also known as a versatile popularizer: editor of the journal Vesmír (1930–1950) in close collaboration with Bohumil Němec (1873–1966), and especially the first director of the lecture and educational program of Czechoslovak Radio (1931–1939), an activity that is difficult to fully appreciate today, as it was innovative even in a European context. In 1932, Associate Professor Albína Dratvová (1892–1969) habilitated in the philosophy of natural sciences at the Faculty of Science and became another outstanding figure at the department. She studied philosophy and mathematics, then focused on the methodology of natural sciences, theoretical problems of physics (The Problem of Causality in Physics, 1931), logic, and also pedagogy in philosophy and psychology. She built on Rádl's comprehensive understanding of the relationships between philosophy and science, but she more strongly embraced the impulses of contemporary logical positivism and produced the most developed synthesis on the topic of Philosophy and Scientific Knowledge (1939, 1946) in her generation in the country.

Although the department was relatively small, the remarkable composition of the main figures mentioned (there were more individual external lecturers) integrated highly diverse approaches at the intersection of philosophy, history, and theory of natural sciences. All the representatives of these fields mentioned held some exceptional place in Czechoslovak philosophy and science and made an indelible mark on the broader cultural consciousness. Despite the primary focus being on teaching students of other disciplines at the Faculty of Science and beyond, the importance of the department is also evidenced by the number of direct graduates, especially students of E. Rádl. Under his guidance, some later prominent figures in scientific or cultural life, such as biologist, anthropologist, and aesthetician Bohuslav Brouk (1912–1978), known as a promoter of surrealism and psychoanalysis; physician, biologist, and geneticist Bohumil Sekla (1901–1987), who ensured the continuity of genetic research in the 1950s; philosopher and psychologist Vladimír Tardy (1906–1987); or Igor Hrušovský (1907–1978), a pioneer and founder of the philosophy of science in Slovakia, defended their doctoral theses.

III. Matoušek’s Postwar Revival and Its End

Following E. Rádl’s illness, Otakar Matoušek gradually took over his teaching, leadership of research activities, and building on his agenda after 1939, despite the efforts of another philosopher of science, F. Krejčí (1858–1934), to connect with Rádl’s ideas, which significantly contributed to Krejčí’s modern philosophical conception in a European context (The Structure of the Real World, I–IV, 1929–1934). Matoušek began to revive the department with the return of university life in 1945. He was a member of the state restoration committees of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and Arts (CSAVU), founded in 1947, and later of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (ČSAV). However, following the faculty reform and the cancellation of all philosophy departments in 1950, Matoušek continued his historical and organizational activities in both academies and in science popularization. Despite the difficult conditions of political normalization, he was also active in informal intellectual life, significantly shaping the development of history of science disciplines in the country.

IV. Continuities During the Time of Oppression until 1989

While the department itself ceased to exist for four decades, its disciplines continued to develop thanks to activities in CSAV, particularly in the Department of History of Natural Sciences, and in the National Museum’s science collections. Research on selected topics also continued at Charles University, particularly in the context of specialized historical-philosophical research conducted by Professor Jan Patočka (1907–1977) at the Faculty of Philosophy (see Collection). A separate center for history and philosophy of science was also established in 1967 at the Faculty of Philosophy and Natural Sciences of Palacký University in Olomouc. The institutional marginalization of the department was also mitigated by the emergence of influential platforms such as the Learned Society of the Czech Republic, which was formed around 1980 as a revival of the prestigious 19th-century Society for Education and Scientific Research.

One of the most influential figures of this period was Zdeněk Neubauer, who brought international philosophical debates into the local context. Neubauer was a key figure in the Prague dissent community and linked with unofficial intellectual life in the country. His ideas significantly influenced the unofficial cultural opposition, especially among students and young intellectuals who were active in the anti-communist movements.

V. Revival after the Velvet Revolution

After the Velvet Revolution, the department was reestablished as part of the Faculty of Science. The head of the department was Professor Zdeněk Neubauer, who played a significant role in its development during the early 1990s. Under his leadership, the department focused on the study of complex systems and the philosophical implications of contemporary scientific theories, particularly in biology, genetics, and cognitive science. The department continues to build on the legacy of its founders while incorporating new approaches and topics relevant to contemporary philosophy and science.

Autor: Tomáš Hermann