astronomy

Martin Kusch

Martin Kusch is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Martin Kusch rather than just read about it. In short: Martin Paul Heinrich Kusch (born 19 October 1959) is Professor of philosophy at the University of Vienna. Until 2009, Kusch was Professor of Philosophy and Sociology of science at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University.

Key takeaways

Martin Kusch belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Martin Kusch to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Martin Kusch from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Martin Paul Heinrich Kusch (born 19 October 1959) is Professor of philosophy at the University of Vienna. Until 2009, Kusch was Professor of Philosophy and Sociology of science at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University. Prior to Cambridge, Kusch was lecturer in the Science Studies Unit of the University of Edinburgh.

Biography Kusch's wide-ranging contributions to philosophy reflect both systematic and historical interests and cut across traditional disciplinary divides. He has published in the philosophy of the social sciences, epistemology, philosophy of language and mind, philosophy of the natural sciences, philosophy of technology, and the history of German and Austrian philosophy. Kusch has also made important contributions to science and technology studies, particularly in the field of the sociology of scientific knowledge. In addition, Kusch has written on the history of science with a special reference to the history of German psychology. In 2005, he delivered the Leibniz Lectures at Leibniz University Hannover. In 2025, he retired from the University of Vienna.

Selected publications

Books Kusch, Martin (1984). Einzelheit und Allgemeinheit: Einführung in die Philosophie G.W.F. Hegels [Singularity and universality: introduction to philosophy G.W.F. Hegels] (in German). Jyväskylä, Finland: Jyväskylän yliopisto Filosofian laitos. ISBN 9789516791138. Reports from the Philosophy Department of the University of Jyväskylä. Kusch, Martin (1986). Ymmärtämisen haaste [The challenge of understanding: an introduction to hermeneutics] (in Finnish). Oulu: Pohjoinen. ISBN 9789517490429. Kusch, Martin; Hintikka, Jaakko (1988). Kieli ja Maailma [Language and the world] (in Finnish). Oulu: Pohjoinen. ISBN 9789517490849. Kusch, Martin (1989). Language as calculus vs. language as universal medium: a study in Husserl, Heidegger, and Gadamer. Dordrecht Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 9780792303336. Kusch, Martin (1991). Foucault's strata and fields: an investigation into archaeological and genealogical science studies. Dordrecht Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 9780792314622. Kusch, Martin (1995). Psychologism: a case study in the sociology of philosophical knowledge. London New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780203983898. Kusch, Martin; Collins, Harry M. (1998). The shape of actions what humans and machines can do. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262032575. Kusch, Martin (1999). Psychological knowledge: a social history and philosophy. London New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415192538. Kusch, Martin (2000). The sociology of philosophical knowledge. Dordrecht Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 9789048153909. Kusch, Martin (2002). Knowledge by agreement: the programme of communitarian epistemology. Oxford New York: Clarendon Press Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199251223. Kusch, Martin (2006). A sceptical guide to meaning and rules: defending Kripke's Wittgenstein. Chesham England: Acumen. ISBN 9781844650651.

Journal articles Kusch, Martin; Pauer-Studer, Herlinde; Schmid, Hans Bernhard (October 2014). "Introduction". Erkenntnis. 79 (s9). Springer: 1563. doi:10.1007/s10670-014-9628-7. JSTOR 24021469. Pdf. Kusch, Martin (October 2014). "The metaphysics and politics of corporate personhood". Erkenntnis. 79 (s9). Springer: 1587–1600. doi:10.1007/s10670-014-9630-0. JSTOR 24021471. S2CID 144577233.

Other Kusch. "Psychologism". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ISSN 1095-5054. OCLC 429049174.

References

External links Kusch's web page

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Martin Kusch

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Martin Kusch claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Martin Kusch before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Martin Kusch ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Martin Kusch

In research: Martin Kusch appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Martin Kusch in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Martin Kusch is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1959 births, 20th-century German male writers, 20th-century German philosophers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Martin Kusch outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Martin Kusch in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Martin Kusch means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Martin Kusch out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Martin Kusch in simple terms?

Why does Martin Kusch matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Martin Kusch?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Martin Kusch.