Marcel Boll

Marcel Boll (15 September 1886, Paris – 12 August 1971, Paris) was a French scientist, sociologist, philosopher, educator, scientific journalist (journalist specializing in scientific topics), and a founding member (1930) of the Rationalist Union (French: Union rationaliste). Boll was one of the most prolific contributors of articles to Les Cahiers Rationalistes (The Rationalist Notebooks) and Raison Présente (Reason Present), two journals published by the Rationalist Union. He was one of the main popularizers of the theory of relativity, the quantum theory, and other aspects of the physical sciences during the interwar period (1918-1939) and in the early 1950s. An advocate of neopositivism,[1] his numerous works on physics, philosophy, sociology, education, and other subjects all reflect his neopositivist perspective. He was the first person to draw the French public's attention to the Vienna Circle (German: der Wiener Kreis).[2] Louis Rougier (1889-1982) and Général Charles-Ernest Vouillemin[3] (1865-1954) later joined Boll in being among the first to introduce and promote the Vienna Circle and its overall philosophical outlook (logical positivism) in France.

Life and work

Boll was born in the 18th arrondissement of Paris (Butte-Montmartre, Paris), and died in Palais-Bourbon, Paris (the 7th arrondissement of Paris). He was a son of a councilor of the Council of Paris. In 1910 Marcel was approved to sit for the examination known as the Agrégation de sciences physiques[4] at the ESPCI Paris (Higher School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry of the City of Paris), in which examination he scored in 11th place.[5] In 1914 he graduated from ESPCI Paris with a Doctorate in Physical Sciences, his doctoral thesis being titled Recherches sur l'évolution photochimique des électrolytes (1914) (Research on the Photochemical Evolution of Electrolytes). He then found employment as an engineer at ESPCI Paris, where he advanced his career, receiving 23 promotions during his time there. Later he became Professor of Chemistry and Electricity at HEC Paris (École des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Paris).

He had a brother named André Boll[6] (1896-1983). In the 1930s through the 1950s, Marcel and André tried to launch a cultural movement inspired by neopositivist scientific, philosophical, and sociological insights. The goal of this movement was the establishment of modernism, rationalism, and scientism in all areas of society. The Boll brothers proposed to achieve this goal through the cultivation of "intellectual elitism" in individuals, primarily via character-building, basing the process solely on implementation of a system of neopositivistic scientific, philosophical, and sociological principles, thus keeping the project free of all non-scientific political and financial interference or bias. In order to promote these ideas Marcel and André co-authored two books, titled L'art contemporain, sa raison d'être, ses manifestations (1931) (Contemporary Art, its Reason for Being, its Manifestations) and L'élite de demain (1946) (The Elite of Tomorrow).

Boll edited works by various members of the Vienna Circle and the Berlin Circle (German: die Berliner Gruppe), including works by philosophers Moritz Schlick, Rudolf Carnap, Philipp Frank, and Hans Reichenbach. The translations of these works were made by others.[7]

List of works
  • (1914) - Recherches sur l'évolution photochimique des électrolytes (Paris: Gauthier-Villars et Cie) (Series: Faculté des sciences de Paris, no. 761, no. d'ordre 1537) (99 p., with diagrams) (doctoral thesis in science) (Research on the Photochemical Evolution of Electrolytes)
  • (1918) - Cours de chimie à l'usage des candidats aux grandes écoles (Dunot & Pinat)
  • (1919) - L’Électron et les phénomènes chimiques (Hermann)
  • (1921) - Attardés & précurseurs : propos objectifs sur la métaphysique et sur la philosophie de ce temps et de ce pays (Chiron)
  • (1921) - La Science et l'esprit positif chez les penseurs contemporains
  • (1922) - Euclide, Galilée, Newton, Einstein. Pour que tout le monde sache de quoi il s'agit, Éditions d'actualités
  • (1922) - (en coll. avec Achille Delmas) La personnalité humaine son analyse, Flammarion, Bibliothèque de philosophie scientifique
  • (1925) - Tendances actuelles de la philosophie française (Attardés et précurseurs)
  • (1927) - Précis de physique, en collaboration avec André Féry (Dunod)
  • (1928) - Introduction à la théorie des quantas, avec Charles Salomon (Doin)
  • (1929) - L’Électron et les applications de l'électricité (Albin Michel éditeur)
  • (1929) - Matière, électricité, radiation. Ce qu'il faut connaitre pour suivre le progrès de la physique actuelle (Delagrave)
  • (1931) - Qu'est ce que : Le hasard, l'énergie, le vide, la chaleur, la lumière, l'électricité, le son, l'affinité (Larousse)
  • (1932) - L'Électricité à la ville, à la campagne, en auto (Larousse)
  • (1932) - Exposé électronique des lois de l'électricité (Hermann et Cie éditeurs)
  • (1932) - L’Idée générale de la mécanique ondulatoire et ses premières applications (Atome d’hydrogène, phénomènes chimiques, conduction électrique) (Hermann)
  • (1934) - L’Atomistique (Les atomes et les molécules, structures électroniques, capillarité et osmose, les colloïdes, la catalyse) (Le François)
  • (1934) - Théorie de la connaissance et physique moderne (Hermann et Cie éditeurs)
  • (1934) - Pour connaître : la relativité, l'analogie, l'inertie, la gravitation, le choc, l'incandescence, la fréquence (Larousse)
  • (1934) - La Science ses progrès ses applications " avec Georges urbain (2 vols.) (Paris: Librairie Larousse)
  • (1935) - La Logique et la caricature dans les questions actuelles
  • (1936) - La Chance et les jeux de hasard : boule, roulettes, baccara, bridge, poker, belote, etc. (Larousse)
  • (1936) - La science des caractères dans ses relations avec la méthode scientifique (éd. Hermann) (38 p.)
  • (1938) - Les Deux Infinis : galaxies, étoiles, planètes, micelles, réseaux, noyaux, neutrons, photons (Larousse)
  • (1939) - Les quatre faces de la physique (Ch. Rieder)
  • (1941) - Quelques Sciences captivantes : Ondes humaines, délires collectifs, hypnotisme, psychanalyse, suggestion, métapsychie, astrologie, spiritisme, radiesthésie (Sagittaire)
  • (1941) - Les Étapes des mathématiques, coll. Que sais-je ? (no 42) (PUF)
  • (1941) - Le Mystère des nombres et des formes (Larousse)
  • (1942) - Éléments de logique scientifique (Dunod)
  • (1942) - Memento du chimiste I. Partie scientifique, 2e éd. mise à jour par M. Boll (en collaboration avec Paul Baud) (Dunod)
  • (1943) - Les Certitudes du hasard; coll. Que sais-je ? (no 3) (PUF)
  • (1943) - L'Exploitation du hasard (Presses universitaires); (Editura contemporana, Bucarest, 1944); (coll. Que sais-je ?, no 57, PUF, 1947)
  • (1944) - L'Occultisme devant la science
  • (1944) - Nouvelle académie des jeux - Le bridge plafond, contrat (Le Triboulet)
  • (1945) - L'Atome, source d'énergie (Presses documentaires)
  • (1946) - Électricité - Magnétisme (PUF)
  • (1948) - Manuel de logique scientifique
  • (1948) - Le Secret des couleurs, en collaboration avec Jean Dourgnon (PUF)
  • (1950) - Radio, radar, télévision (Larousse)
  • (1950) - L'Occultisme devant la science (PUF)
  • (1952) - Physique appliquée à l'art dentaire (J.-B Baillère et fils éditeurs)
  • (1953) - Les Étapes de la connaissance, en collaboration avec Jean-Claude Pages (Hermann)
  • (1954) - L´Éducation du jugement (PUF)
  • (1954) - Les Étapes de la logique, en collaboration avec Jacques Reinhart (Maison Madelain)
  • (1955) - Les Étapes de la mécanique (PUF)
  • (1957) - Tables numériques universelles des laboratoires et bureaux d'étude (Dunod)
  • (1958) - La Personnalité, en collaboration avec Francis Baud (Masson et Cie)
  • (1961) - Histoire de la logique, en collaboration avec Jacques Reinhart

References
  1. The term neopositivism is a generic, umbrella term, used to designate a wide variety of modern forms of positivism. Neopositivist perspectives have been developed and applied in many fields of knowledge, including philosophy, various branches of science (especially physics), mathematics, sociology, psychology, education, jurisprudence, and history. Logical positivism and logical empiricism are two forms of neopositivism that have been developed and applied in the field of philosophy, particularly in sub-fields of philosophy such as philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, philosophy of mind, logic and philosophy of logic, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of education, epistemology, and metaphysics. Logical positivism and logical empiricism were originally developed by various members of the Vienna and Berlin Circles, as well as by other individuals and groups outside Austria and Germany. The formal name of the Berlin Circle (which met in Berlin, Germany) was Die Gesellschaft für Empirische Philosophie (The Society for Empirical Philosophy). The Berlin Circle was founded in 1928 by philosophers Hans Reichenbach (1891-1953), Kurt Grelling (1886-1942), and Walter Dubislav (1895-1937). The mathematician David Hilbert (1862-1943), mathematician and philosopher Richard von Mises (1883-1953), and philosopher Carl Gustav Hempel (1905-1997) were also prominent members of the Berlin Circle.
  2. Schöttler, Peter (25 April 2015). "From Comte to Carnap. Marcel Boll and the Introduction of the Vienna Circle". Revue de Synthèse. 136 (1–2): 207–36. doi:10.1007/s11873-014-0260-4. PMID 25914078. S2CID 44259535.
  3. Général Charles-Ernest Vouillemin (July 31, 1865 - September 30, 1954) - Born in Bourmont, Haute-Marne, Champagne, France. His parents were Charles Vouillemin (April 15, 1833 - January 18, 1920) and Isabelle Marie Guillaumot (January 28, 1839 - April 9, 1869), who were married on September 26, 1864, in Bologne, Haute-Marne, France. Charles Vouillemin (Général Vouillemin's father), a physician and pharmacist in Bourmont, was a member of the Conseil d'hygiene de la Haute-Marne (Health Council of Haute-Marne), and also served as mayor of Bourmont. His son Charles-Ernest Vouillemin (1865-1954) began his higher education when he entered the École polytechnique (Polytechnic University) in 1885. The École polytechnique is a French military science and engineering graduate school. Founded in 1794, in 1830 the school was put under control of the French Ministry of War by Louis Philippe I (1773-1850), King of France. At the time Vouillemin was a student there, the École polytechnique was located in the Latin Quarter of central Paris. After graduating from the École polytechnique, Vouillemin attended the École d'application de l'artillerie et du génie (School of Artillery and Engineering Applications), a French military school located in Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, in northern France. In 1887 he attained the rank of Second Lieutenant, in October 1889 the rank of Lieutenant in the 8th Artillery Regiment, and in December 1896 the rank of Captain in the 17th Artillery Regiment, while holding a teaching position at the École supérieure de guerre (Superior School of Warfare). The École supérieure de guerre forms part of the École militaire (Military School) complex of buildings, located at 22 rue du Champ-de-Mars in Paris. Meanwhile, on October 25, 1892 he had married Jeanne Fleury (April 22, 1869 - October 6, 1937) in Châlons-en-Champagne (known as Châlons-sur-Marne at the time Charles-Ernest and Jeanne were married there), Champagne-Ardenne, France. Jeanne was a daughter of Paul Louis Félix Fleury (January 10, 1831 - April 19, 1915) and Marie Catelie Bost (September 8, 1832 - September 14, 1905), who had been married in Paris on July 1, 1868. Paul L. F. Fleury attained the rank of Général de Brigade (Brigadier General) in the French Army on October 21, 1887, when he was appointed Commandant du Génie Militaire (Commander of Military Engineers) of the 6th (Metz) Military Region of the French Army (see Military district). Jeanne was born in Belfort, Franche-Comté, Alsace, France, and died in Gstaad, Bern, Switzerland. Jeanne and Charles-Ernest Vouillemin had a son named Claude Vouillemin (May 4, 1898 - February 9, 1953). In 1907 Charles-Ernest Vouillemin served on a French military assignment in Algeria and Tunisia. In 1912 he held a position on the French Army's Special Staff of the Artillery, and served as Assistant Professor of Geology and Geography at the École supérieure de guerre. In February 1915, during World War I, he was assigned to the 39th Artillery Regiment, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In October 1916 he left the 39th Artillery Regiment and joined the French Military Mission to Romania (1916-1918) (aka the Berthelot Mission), under the command of General Henri Mathias Berthelot (1861-1931). In Romania, Berthelot held Vouillemin in very high regard, and he appointed him (Vouillemin held the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel at the time) to serve as the French Inspector General of Artillery. In this position, Vouillemin's main responsibility was the reorganization, re-supply, and successful deployment of the Romanian Army's Field Artillery division, while he also served as an artillery instructor. Berthelot appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Leon Steghens to serve as the French Inspector General of Heavy Artillery, his main responsibility being the reorganization, re-supply, and successful deployment of the Romanian Army's Heavy Artillery division. After the French Military Mission to Romania was expelled from Romania by Germany on March 12, 1918, Vouillemin served as Commander of the 20th Artillery Regiment on the Western Front - see Western Front (World War I). From April 1919 to December 1920 Vouillemin served in the French Military Mission to Poland, under the command of General Paul Prosper Henrys (1862-1943). In December 1919 Vouillemin was promoted to the rank of Général de Brigade (brigadier general), while serving as a member of the General Staff of the French Military Mission to Poland. He was also an officer in the Legion of Honour. Vouillemin retired from the French Army in 1924, but even before retiring from the Army he had begun to write and publish books on topics in the philosophy of science from a neopositivist perspective. He also translated several works of other neopositivist philosophers into French. On his publications Vouillemin usually listed himself as Général Vouillemin or as Ernest Vouillemin, but sometimes he used other variations of his name (such as Charles Vouillemin, C. E. Vouillemin, C.-E. Vouillemin, Charles Ernest Vouillemin, or Charles-Ernest Vouillemin), and these variations were also sometimes used by others in reference to him. Charles-Ernest Vouillemin died on September 30, 1954 in the Maritime Hospital of Toulon (l'Hôpital Maritime de Toulon) in Toulon, Var, Provence, France.
  4. Also see the Wikipedia article titled Agrégation.
  5. André Chervel - Les agrégés de l'enseignement secondaire. Répertoire 1809-1960. (Lyon, France: LARHRA, March 2015) (Associates of Secondary Education. Directory 1809-1960). Other authors associated with this publication include Henri Chamoux and Vincent Alamercery. LARHRA is the acronym for Laboratoire de Recherche Historique Rhône-Alpes (Rhône-Alpes Historical Research Laboratory).
  6. André Boll (April 25, 1896 – April 30, 1983) – He was an architect, artist, and a costume designer for the opera, ballet, and theater. As an architect he was a disciple of the great Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier (1887-1965).
  7. Stadler, Friedrich (2007). General Philosophy of Science: Focal Issues. Elsevier. ISBN 9780080548548. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
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