Social Theories and Methodology in the 1930s and 1940s in Austria and the US: The Case of Felix Kaufmann

Social Theories and Methodology in the 1930s and 1940s in Austria and the US: The Case of Felix Kaumann

The paper will contribute to the discussion of democracy and social theory in the 1930s and 1940s by focussing on Felix Kaufmann. Kaufmann (1895 - 1949) published widely in jurisprudence, mathematics, economics and sociology both in Austria and, after his forced emigration, in the US (Cohen and Helling 2014). In addition to published texts his exteded correspondence with social scientists and philosophers will be used for insights into the intellectual developments during this period. Kaufmann's insistence on the possibility and necessity of a social science which is independent of world-views is relevant to a discussion of the pre-conditions of democracy.