This project deals with a crucial phase in the history of analytical philosophy for the German-speaking area. Fueled by the “export” of the philosophers of the Vienna Circle and related thinkers, analytical philosophy mainly established from the 1930’s on the Anglo-Saxon area, where it has become the dominating strand of philosophy. Unlike in the case of other philosophical movements, e.g. the Frankfurt School, almost none of the emigrants returned. It was left to a new generation to reintroduce analytical philosophy in German-speaking countries. Obviously, what was “re-imported” was by no means identical to what was previously exported; the development of analytical philosophy from the first radical theses of the Vienna Circle to the 1960’s is characterized by profound transformations and ruptures. Beside these content-related aspects it is a central working hypothesis in this project that this fact of the re-import is of decisive importance for the way in which the analytical philosophy got established in the German-speaking academic world.

A particularly important representative of this new generation was Rudolf Haller (1929–2014), professor of philosophy in Graz. The present project examines his role the re-import of the analytical philosophy. It does, firstly, by examining his intellectual biography upon the influences that aroused his interest in analytical philosophy. Second, close consideration will be given to the numerous organizational activities set by Haller, which then created a suitable milieu and made Graz an early center of analytical philosophy in German-speaking countries. Thirdly, Haller’s role in exploring the early history of analytical philosophy (and especially its Austrian roots) will be examined. In the context of the project, this question is particularly important because Haller’s work played a major role in understanding the import as a re-import. Fourth and finally major items of Haller’s systematic work will be discussed in their context (due to the breadth of Haller’s interests and the extent of his publications, of course, only selected ones). These include above all Haller’s metaphilosophical position regarding the question of the nature of philosophical problems, but also his original contributions, e.g., to epistemology and in particular to the question of the foundation of human knowledge.