The purpose of this book is to initiate a new discipline, namely a formalized epistemological method drawn from the cognitive strategies practised in the most effective among the modern scientific disciplines, as well as from general philosophical thinking. Indeed, what is lacking in order to improve our knowledge and our domination of the modes which nowadays are available for the generation and communication of knowledge, thoroughly and rapidly and with precision and detail? It is a systematic explication of the epistemological essence encrypted in the specialized languages and algorithms of the major modern scientific approaches, a systematic cross-referencing of the explicated results, and a final elaboration of a new coherent whole.

Quantum mechanics, like a diver, can take us down to the level of the very first actions of our conceptualization of reality. And starting from there, it can induce an explicit understanding of certain fundamental features of the new scientific thinking.

A formalized epistemology should not be mistaken for a crossdisciplinary or a multidisciplinary project. The latter projects are designed to offer to nonspecialists access to information, to results obtained inside specialized disciplines, as well as a certain understanding of these results; whereas a formalized epistemology should equip anyone with a framework for conceptualizing himself in whatever domain and direction he or she might choose. A formalized epistemology should not be mistaken either for an approach belonging to the modern cognitive sciences. These try to establish as neutrally as possible descriptions of how the human body-and-mind work spontaneously when knowledge isgenerated; whereas a method of conceptualization should establish what conceptual-operational deliberate procedures have to be applied in order to represent and to achieve processes of generation of knowledge optimized accordingly to any definite aims.

This book addresses philosophers of science, physicists, mathematicians, logicians, computer scientists, researchers in cognitive sciences, and biologists, as well as any intellectual who is interested in scientific and philosophical thinking.

The Centre pour la Synthese d'une Epistemologie Formalisee, henceforth briefly named CeSEF, was founded in June 1994 by a small group of s- entists working in various disciplines, with the definite aim to synthesize a "formalized epistemology" founded on the methods identifiable within the foremost modern scientificdisciplines. Most of the founders were already authors of well-known works displaying a particular sensitivity to episte- logical questions. But the aim that united us was new. This aim along with the peculiar choice of its verbal expression are thoroughly discussed in the Introduction. In the present volume, we publish the first harvest of explorations and constructive proposals advanced in pursuit of our goal. The contributions are expressive also of the views of those who shared only our beginnings and 1 then left us; they equally reflect input from those who participated in our workshops but did not contribute to this volume. We are indebted to the Association Naturalia et Biologica for having supported with a donation the publication of this volume. The camera-ready form of this book we owe to the patient and met- ulous labor of Ms. Jackie Gratrix. The superb job she has done is herewith gratefully acknowledged. Mioara Mugur-Schachter and Alwyn van der Merwe 1 Paul Bourgine and, quite specially, Bernard Walliser."