Mathematics, Ideas and the Physical Real

Mathematics, Ideas and the Physical Real
Author: Albert Lautman
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2011-06-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1441146547

Albert Lautman (1908-1944) was a French philosopher of mathematics whose work played a crucial role in the history of contemporary French philosophy. His ideas have had an enormous influence on key contemporary thinkers including Gilles Deleuze and Alain Badiou, for whom he is a major touchstone in the development of their own engagements with mathematics. Mathematics, Ideas and the Physical Real presents the first English translation of Lautman's published works between 1933 and his death in 1944. Rather than being preoccupied with the relation of mathematics to logic or with the problems of foundation, which have dominated philosophical reflection on mathematics, Lautman undertakes to develop an understanding of the broader structure of mathematics and its evolution. The two powerful ideas that are constants throughout his work, and which have dominated subsequent developments in mathematics, are the concept of mathematical structure and the idea of the essential unity underlying the apparent multiplicity of mathematical disciplines. This collection of his major writings offers readers a much-needed insight into his influence on the development of mathematics and philosophy.

European Philosophy of Science - Philosophy of Science in Europe and the Viennese Heritage

European Philosophy of Science - Philosophy of Science in Europe and the Viennese Heritage
Author: Maria Carla Galavotti
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2013-08-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 331901899X

This volume combines the theoretical and historical perspective focusing on the specific features of a European philosophy of science. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Institute Vienna Circle the Viennese roots and influences will be addressed, in addition. There is no doubt that contemporary philosophy of science originated mainly in Europe beginning in the 19th century and has influenced decisively the subsequent development of globalized philosophy of science, esp. in North America. Recent research in this field documents some specific characteristics of philosophy of science covering the natural, social, and also cultural sciences in the European context up to the destruction and forced migration caused by Fascism and National Socialism. This European perspective with the integration of history and philosophy of science and the current situation in the philosophy of science after the transatlantic interaction and transformation, and the “return” after World War II raises the question of contemporary European characteristics in the philosophy of science. The role and function of the renowned Vienna Circle of Logical Empiricism and its impact and influence on contemporary philosophy of science is on the agenda, too. Accordingly, the general topic is dealt with in two parallel sessions representing systematic-formal as well as genetic-historical perspectives on philosophy of science in a European context up to the present.​

The Logical Writings of Karl Popper

The Logical Writings of Karl Popper
Author: David Binder
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 552
Release: 2022-08-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3030949265

This open access book is the first ever collection of Karl Popper's writings on deductive logic. Karl R. Popper (1902-1994) was one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. His philosophy of science ("falsificationism") and his social and political philosophy ("open society") have been widely discussed way beyond academic philosophy. What is not so well known is that Popper also produced a considerable work on the foundations of deductive logic, most of it published at the end of the 1940s as articles at scattered places. This little-known work deserves to be known better, as it is highly significant for modern proof-theoretic semantics. This collection assembles Popper's published writings on deductive logic in a single volume, together with all reviews of these papers. It also contains a large amount of unpublished material from the Popper Archives, including Popper's correspondence related to deductive logic and manuscripts that were (almost) finished, but did not reach the publication stage. All of these items are critically edited with additional comments by the editors. A general introduction puts Popper's work into the context of current discussions on the foundations of logic. This book should be of interest to logicians, philosophers, and anybody concerned with Popper's work.

Philosophical Lectures on Probability

Philosophical Lectures on Probability
Author: Bruno de Finetti
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2008-05-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402082029

Bruno de Finetti (1906–1985) is the founder of the subjective interpretation of probability, together with the British philosopher Frank Plumpton Ramsey. His related notion of “exchangeability” revolutionized the statistical methodology. This book (based on a course held in 1979) explains in a language accessible also to non-mathematicians the fundamental tenets and implications of subjectivism, according to which the probability of any well specified fact F refers to the degree of belief actually held by someone, on the ground of her whole knowledge, on the truth of the assertion that F obtains.

Images of Italian Mathematics in France

Images of Italian Mathematics in France
Author: Frédéric Brechenmacher
Publisher: Birkhäuser
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2016-10-13
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 3319400827

The contributions in this proceedings volume offer a new perspective on the mathematical ties between France and Italy, and reveal how mathematical developments in these two countries affected one another. The focus is above all on the Peninsula’s influence on French mathematicians, counterbalancing the historically predominant perception that French mathematics was a model for Italian mathematicians. In the process, the book details a subtle network of relations between the two countries, where mathematical exchanges fit into the changing and evolving framework of Italian political and academic structures. It reconsiders the issue of nationalities in all of its complexity, an aspect often neglected in research on the history of mathematics. The works in this volume are selected contributions from a conference held in Lille and Lens (France) in November 2013 on Images of Italian Mathematics in France from Risorgimento to Fascism. The authors include respected historians of mathematics, philosophers of science, historians, and specialists for Italy and intellectual relations, ensuring the book will be of great interest to their peers.

Parsing the Turing Test

Parsing the Turing Test
Author: Robert Epstein
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2008-12-01
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1402096240

An exhaustive work that represents a landmark exploration of both the philosophical and methodological issues surrounding the search for true artificial intelligence. Distinguished psychologists, computer scientists, philosophers, and programmers from around the world debate weighty issues such as whether a self-conscious computer would create an internet ‘world mind’. This hugely important volume explores nothing less than the future of the human race itself.