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Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Logic
This book presents a set of historical recollections on the work of
Martin Davis and his role in advancing our understanding of the
connections between logic, computing, and unsolvability. The
individual contributions touch on most of the core aspects of
Davis' work and set it in a contemporary context. They analyse,
discuss and develop many of the ideas and concepts that Davis put
forward, including such issues as contemporary satisfiability
solvers, essential unification, quantum computing and
generalisations of Hilbert's tenth problem. The book starts out
with a scientific autobiography by Davis, and ends with his
responses to comments included in the contributions. In addition,
it includes two previously unpublished original historical papers
in which Davis and Putnam investigate the decidable and the
undecidable side of Logic, as well as a full bibliography of Davis'
work. As a whole, this book shows how Davis' scientific work lies
at the intersection of computability, theoretical computer science,
foundations of mathematics, and philosophy, and draws its unifying
vision from his deep involvement in Logic.
This book is meant as a part of the larger contemporary
philosophical project of naturalizing logico-mathematical
knowledge, and addresses the key question that motivates most of
the work in this field: What is philosophically relevant about the
nature of logico-mathematical knowledge in recent research in
psychology and cognitive science? The question about this
distinctive kind of knowledge is rooted in Plato's dialogues, and
virtually all major philosophers have expressed interest in it. The
essays in this collection tackle this important philosophical query
from the perspective of the modern sciences of cognition, namely
cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Naturalizing
Logico-Mathematical Knowledge contributes to consolidating a new,
emerging direction in the philosophy of mathematics, which, while
keeping the traditional concerns of this sub-discipline in sight,
aims to engage with them in a scientifically-informed manner. A
subsequent aim is to signal the philosophers' willingness to enter
into a fruitful dialogue with the community of cognitive scientists
and psychologists by examining their methods and interpretive
strategies.
This book bridges the gaps between logic, mathematics and computer
science by delving into the theory of well-quasi orders, also known
as wqos. This highly active branch of combinatorics is deeply
rooted in and between many fields of mathematics and logic,
including proof theory, commutative algebra, braid groups, graph
theory, analytic combinatorics, theory of relations, reverse
mathematics and subrecursive hierarchies. As a unifying concept for
slick finiteness or termination proofs, wqos have been rediscovered
in diverse contexts, and proven to be extremely useful in computer
science. The book introduces readers to the many facets of, and
recent developments in, wqos through chapters contributed by
scholars from various fields. As such, it offers a valuable asset
for logicians, mathematicians and computer scientists, as well as
scholars and students.
This is the first textbook that approaches natural language
semantics and logic from the perspective of Discourse
Representation Theory, an approach which emphasizes the dynamic and
incremental aspects of meaning and inference. The book has been
carefully designed for the classroom. It is aimed at students with
varying degrees of preparation, including those without prior
exposure to semantics or formal logic. Moreover, it should make DRT
easily accessible to those who want to learn about the theory on
their own. Exercises are available to test understanding as well as
to encourage independent theoretical thought. The book serves a
double purpose. Besides a textbook, it is also the first
comprehensive and fully explicit statement of DRT available in the
form of a book. The first part of the book develops the basic
principles of DRT for a small fragment of English (but which has
nevertheless the power of standard predicate logic). The second
part extends this fragment by adding plurals; it discusses a wide
variety of problems connected with plural nouns and verbs. The
third part applies the theory to the analysis of tense and aspect.
Many of the problems raised in Parts Two and Three are novel, as
are the solutions proposed. For undergraduate and graduate students
interested in linguistics, theoretical linguistics, computational
linguistics, artificial intelligence and cognitive science.
Suitable for students with no previous exposure to formal semantics
or logic.
This book develops new techniques in formal epistemology and
applies them to the challenge of Cartesian skepticism. It
introduces two formats of epistemic evaluation that should be of
interest to epistemologists and philosophers of science: the
dual-component format, which evaluates a statement on the basis of
its safety and informativeness, and the relative-divergence format,
which evaluates a probabilistic model on the basis of its
complexity and goodness of fit with data. Tomoji Shogenji shows
that the former lends support to Cartesian skepticism, but the
latter allows us to defeat Cartesian skepticism. Along the way,
Shogenji addresses a number of related issues in epistemology and
philosophy of science, including epistemic circularity, epistemic
closure, and inductive skepticism.
This volume covers a wide range of topics in the most recent
debates in the philosophy of mathematics, and is dedicated to how
semantic, epistemological, ontological and logical issues interact
in the attempt to give a satisfactory picture of mathematical
knowledge. The essays collected here explore the semantic and
epistemic problems raised by different kinds of mathematical
objects, by their characterization in terms of axiomatic theories,
and by the objectivity of both pure and applied mathematics. They
investigate controversial aspects of contemporary theories such as
neo-logicist abstractionism, structuralism, or multiversism about
sets, by discussing different conceptions of mathematical realism
and rival relativistic views on the mathematical universe. They
consider fundamental philosophical notions such as set, cardinal
number, truth, ground, finiteness and infinity, examining how their
informal conceptions can best be captured in formal theories. The
philosophy of mathematics is an extremely lively field of inquiry,
with extensive reaches in disciplines such as logic and philosophy
of logic, semantics, ontology, epistemology, cognitive sciences, as
well as history and philosophy of mathematics and science. By
bringing together well-known scholars and younger researchers, the
essays in this collection - prompted by the meetings of the Italian
Network for the Philosophy of Mathematics (FilMat) - show how much
valuable research is currently being pursued in this area, and how
many roads ahead are still open for promising solutions to
long-standing philosophical concerns. Promoted by the Italian
Network for the Philosophy of Mathematics - FilMat
Philosophical questions regarding the nature and methodology of
philosophical inquiry have garnered much attention in recent years.
Perhaps nowhere are these discussions more developed than in
relation to the field of metaphysics. The Routledge Handbook of
Metametaphysics is an outstanding reference source to this growing
subject. It comprises thirty-eight chapters written by leading
international contributors, and is arranged around five themes: *
The history of metametaphysics * Neo-Quineanism (and its objectors)
* Alternative conceptions of metaphysics * The epistemology of
metaphysics * Science and metaphysics. Essential reading for
students and researchers in metaphysics, philosophical methodology,
and ontology, The Routledge Handbook of Metametaphysics will also
be of interest to those in closely related subjects such as
philosophy of language, logic, and philosophy of science.
This is an advanced study of systems of propositional logic which
offers a comprehensive account of a wide variety of logical systems
and which encourages students to take a critical stance towards the
subject. A great variety of systems and subsystems are defined and
compared as regards their deductive power and relation to their
model theory. Interesting features include a more refined treatment
of modal logic and the special attention given to the weakenings of
classical logic. Useful appendices provide a topical bibliography
and review of basic set theory.
The primary objective of An Inquiry into the Nature of Aesthetic
Theory in Its Relation to Theory of Knowledge in Kant's Critical
Philosophy is to investigate Kant's aesthetic theory and its
problematic relation to theory of knowledge in his transcendental
philosophy. In the Critique of Judgment, Kant constructs his
aesthetic theory by arguing that the aesthetic experience is based
on a certain type of feeling, namely, the feeling of pleasure,
rather than a concept. He grounds such a feeling on the aesthetic
judgment of reflection. In spite of its nonconceptual and
subjective characteristic, an aesthetic reflective judgment still
has a claim to be universally valid. Here, the feeling of pleasure
in beautiful is produced by the free harmonious relation between
the imagination and the understanding. Judgment, in its reflective
employment, does not determine its object but determines the
feeling of pleasure in the judging subject. On the other hand, the
categories, as pure concepts of the understanding, carry nearly all
the weight in his theory of knowledge presented in the Critique of
Pure Reason. The imagination, in this case, is strictly bound up by
the rules that are imposed by the concepts of the understanding. By
this way, judgment, as a cognitive faculty, determines its object
and gains its objective validity. In this context, this book
discusses the nature of Kant's aesthetic theory and the components
that constitute a pure aesthetic judgment of reflection and
attempts to clarify its proper place in critical philosophy
regarding his theory of knowledge.
David E. Over is a leading cognitive scientist and, with his firm
grounding in philosophical logic, he also exerts a powerful
influence on the psychology of reasoning. He is responsible for not
only a large body of empirical work and accompanying theory, but
for advancing a major shift in thinking about reasoning, commonly
known as the 'new paradigm' in the psychology of human reasoning.
Over's signature mix of philosophical logic and experimental
psychology has inspired generations of researchers, psychologists,
and philosophers alike over more than a quarter of a century. The
chapters in this volume, written by a leading group of contributors
including a number who helped shape the psychology of reasoning as
we know it today, each take their starting point from the key
themes of Over's ground-breaking work. The essays in this
collection explore a wide range of central topics-such as
rationality, bias, dual processes, and dual systems-as well as
contemporary psychological and philosophical theories of
conditionals. It concludes with an engaging new chapter, authored
by David E. Over himself, which details and analyses the new
paradigm psychology of reasoning. This book is therefore important
reading for scholars, researchers, and advanced students in
psychology, philosophy, and the cognitive sciences, including those
who are not familiar with Over's thought already.
First published in 1999, this volume re-examines Bertrand Russell's
views on modal logic and logical relevance, arguing that Russell
does in fact accommodate modality and modal logic. The author, Jan
Dejnozka, draws together Russell's comments and perspectives from
throughout his canon in order to demonstrate a coherent view on
logical modality and logical relevance. To achieve this, Dejnozka
explores questions including whether Russell has a possible worlds
logic, Rescher's case against Russell, Russell's three levels of
modality and the motives and origins of Russell's theory of
modality.
Biologists, climate scientists, and economists all rely on models
to move their work forward. In this book, Stephen M. Downes
explores the use of models in these and other fields to introduce
readers to the various philosophical issues that arise in
scientific modeling. Readers learn that paying attention to models
plays a crucial role in appraising scientific work. This book first
presents a wide range of models from a number of different
scientific disciplines. After assembling some illustrative
examples, Downes demonstrates how models shed light on many
perennial issues in philosophy of science and in philosophy in
general. Reviewing the range of views on how models represent their
targets introduces readers to the key issues in debates on
representation, not only in science but in the arts as well. Also,
standard epistemological questions are cast in new and interesting
ways when readers confront the question, "What makes for a good (or
bad) model?" All examples from the sciences and positions in the
philosophy of science are presented in an accessible manner. The
book is suitable for undergraduates with minimal experience in
philosophy and an introductory undergraduate experience in science.
Key features: The book serves as a highly accessible philosophical
introduction to models and modeling in the sciences, presenting all
philosophical and scientific issues in a nontechnical manner.
Students and other readers learn to practice philosophy of science
by starting with clear examples taken directly from the sciences.
While not comprehensive, this book introduces the reader to a wide
range of views on key issues in the philosophy of science.
This volume contains twenty-four essays by the British/Australian
analytic metaphysician, Brian Garrett. These essays are followed by
four short dialogues that emphasize and summarize some of the main
points of the essays and discuss new perspectives that have emerged
since their original publication. The volume covers topics on the
metaphysics of time, the nature of identity, and the nature and
importance of persons and human beings. The chapters constitute the
fruits of almost four decades of philosophical research, from
Brian's two award-winning essays, published in Analysis in 1983 and
The Philosophical Quarterly in 1992, to his latest ideas about
Fatalism and the Grandfather Paradox. This book will be of interest
to students and professional philosophers in the field of analytic
philosophy.
This book on proof theory centers around the legacy of Kurt Schutte
and its current impact on the subject. Schutte was the last
doctoral student of David Hilbert who was the first to see that
proofs can be viewed as structured mathematical objects amenable to
investigation by mathematical methods (metamathematics). Schutte
inaugurated the important paradigm shift from finite proofs to
infinite proofs and developed the mathematical tools for their
analysis. Infinitary proof theory flourished in his hands in the
1960s, culminating in the famous bound 0 for the limit of
predicative mathematics (a fame shared with Feferman). Later his
interests shifted to developing infinite proof calculi for
impredicative theories. Schutte had a keen interest in advancing
ordinal analysis to ever stronger theories and was still working on
some of the strongest systems in his eighties. The articles in this
volume from leading experts close to his research, show the
enduring influence of his work in modern proof theory. They range
from eye witness accounts of his scientific life to developments at
the current research frontier, including papers by Schutte himself
that have never been published before.
The second volume is devoted to issues of compositionality that
arouse in the sciences of language, the investigation of the mind,
and the modeling of representational brain functions. How could
compositional languages evolve? How many sentences are needed to
learn a compositional language? How does compositionality relate to
the interpretation of texts, the generation of idioms and
metaphors, and the understanding of aberrant expressions? What
psychological mechanism underlies the combination of complex
concepts? And finally, what neuronal structure can possibly realize
a compositional system of mental representations?
The Process of Argument: An Introduction is a necessary companion
for anyone seeking to engage in successful persuasion: To organize,
construct, and communicate arguments. It is both comprehensive and
accessible: An authoritative guide to logical thinking and
effective communication. The book begins with techniques to improve
reading comprehension, including guides on navigating through fake
news and internet trolls. Then, readers are taught how to
reconstruct deductive, inductive, and abductive presentations so
that the logical structure is explicit. And finally, there is a
step-by-step guide for responding to these texts via the
argumentative essay. Along the way are current examples from social
media and elsewhere on the internet along with guides for assessing
truth claims in an ever-complicated community worldview.
Throughout, are carefully selected reading questions and exercises
that will pace readers in order to ensure that the text is securely
grasped and successfully applied. Key Features Offers guidance on
how to read a text through self-analysis and social criticism
Provides a step-by-step procedure for allowing the student to move
from reading to reconstruction to being prepared to write an
effective argumentative essay Presents truth theory and shows
readers how they can helpfully acquaint themselves with a version
of realistic, foundational epistemology Offers guidelines and
helpful tools on how best to structure an argumentative, pro or
con, essay Includes expansive coverage of inductive logic through
the use and assessment of statistics Covers abductive logic as it
applies to the analysis of narrative in argumentative writing Has
up-to-date examples from the media, including from blogs, social
media, and television Includes a helpful glossary of all important
terms in the book
All of us are faced countless times with the challenge of
persuading others, whether we're trying to win a trivial argument
with a friend or convince our coworkers about an important
decision. Instead of relying on untrained instinct--and often
floundering or failing as a result--we'd win more arguments if we
learned the timeless art of verbal persuasion, rhetoric. How to Win
an Argument gathers the rhetorical wisdom of Cicero, ancient Rome's
greatest orator, from across his works and combines it with
passages from his legal and political speeches to show his powerful
techniques in action. The result is an enlightening and
entertaining practical introduction to the secrets of persuasive
speaking and writing--including strategies that are just as
effective in today's offices, schools, courts, and political
debates as they were in the Roman forum. How to Win an Argument
addresses proof based on rational argumentation, character, and
emotion; the parts of a speech; the plain, middle, and grand
styles; how to persuade no matter what audience or circumstances
you face; and more. Cicero's words are presented in lively
translations, with illuminating introductions; the book also
features a brief biography of Cicero, a glossary, suggestions for
further reading, and an appendix of the original Latin texts.
Astonishingly relevant, this unique anthology of Cicero's
rhetorical and oratorical wisdom will be enjoyed by anyone who ever
needs to win arguments and influence people--in other words, all of
us.
The aim of this monograph is to present some of the basic ideas and
results in pure combinatory logic and their applications to some
topics in proof theory, and also to present some work of my own.
Some of the material in chapter 1 and 3 has already appeared in my
notes Introduction to Combinatory Logic. It appears here in revised
form since the presen tation in my notes is inaccurate in several
respects. I would like to express my gratitude to Stig Kanger for
his invalu able advice and encouragement and also for his
assistance in a wide variety of matters concerned with my study in
Uppsala. I am also in debted to Per Martin-USf for many valuable
and instructive conversa tions. As will be seen in chapter 4 and 5,
I also owe much to the work of Dag Prawitz and W. W. Tait. My
thanks also to Craig McKay who read the manuscript and made
valuable suggestions. I want, however, to emphasize that the
shortcomings that no doubt can be found, are my sole
responsibility. Uppsala, February 1972."
This book provides an accessible and thorough analysis of "The
Doctrine of Being," the first part of Hegel's Science of Logic.
Though it received much scholarly attention in the past,
interpreters of this text have generally refrained from examining
it in a sufficiently detailed manner. Through a rigorous and
critical reading of Hegel's speculative arguments, Mehmet Tabak
illustrates that Hegel meant his logic to be both a
presuppositionless analysis and development of the basic categories
of thought, on the one hand, and a post-Kantian ontology on the
other. However, the analysis of the text demonstrates that Hegel
fails to deliver such logic. This volume promises to be an
indispensable guide to those who wish to understand the first book
of Science of Logic.
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