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Proofs, arguments and dialogues: history, epistemology and logic of justification practices

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CIVIS focus area
Society, culture, heritage
Open to
  • Bachelor's
  • Master's
  • PhD
Field of studies
  • Computer Science and IT
  • Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  • Social Science and humanities
Type
  • CIVIS Hub 2
Course dates
8-12 August 2022

Proofs and arguments have been at the core of philosophy since the beginning. From the late 19th century onwards, the understanding of proofs and arguments has been strongly influenced by the development of modern mathematical logic and linguistics, while in recent times results in computer science have provided deep insights into the nature and structure of proofs and, thanks to the advancements in computational linguistics, of arguments in general. This exchange between philosophy, mathematics, linguistics and computer science has also led to a renewed approach to dialogues, in particular to the analysis of their context-depending nature and of their information-yielding structure.

In spite of the advancements in philosophy, mathematics, linguistics and computer science, the notions of proof, argument and dialogue still involve many unsolved issues. These issues refer to some fundamental questions such as: why and how do we get convinced by proofs, arguments and dialogues? What is the reliability of the information they convey? Is this reliability context-independent? What is the semantic import of proofs, arguments or dialogues? Co-operation between different disciplines seems to be inevitable for finding solutions to these questions, and such a cooperation has so far proved to be very fruitful. Many mathematised approaches to the study of proofs, arguments and dialogues are inspired by philosophical claims and strictly interlace with parallel investigations in linguistics and computer science. In turn, results in mathematical logic, linguistics and computer science are a continuous source of inspiration for many philosophical approaches.

Main topics addressed

  • Argumentation theory
  • Proof-theory and proof-based semantics (BHK semantics, Prawitz's semantics, Martin-Löf intuitionistic type theory, and so on)
  • Curry-Howard isomorphism
  • Inferentialism
  • Theory of meaning
  • Epistemic aspects of deduction
  • Computational linguistics
  • Dialogical logics

Learning outcomes

The proposed training consists of courses and invited talks. It aims at providing students with a wide and, above all, transdisciplinary insight into contemporary investigations about proofs, arguments and dialogues in philosophy, linguistics, logic, mathematics and computer science. Students will get acquainted with current approaches and result in proof theory, argumentation theory and dialogue theory, as well as the historical, epistemological and formal connections between these fields. This will allow them to adopt a strongly transdisciplinary point of view on some of the most important research areas in linguistics, logic, philosophy, mathematics and computer science, as well as on some of the most important trends in these fields.

Dates: 8-12 August 2022 CIVIS scholarships: 21
Format: Blended Contact hours: 10 hours
Location: Tübingen, Germany Individual workload: 30 hours
Contact: antpiccdarag@gmail.com ECTS: 3*

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university. 

Students will have to attend courses in the morning, from 8 to 11 August (however, there may be some courses slot in the afternoon on one or two days). Before the course starts, a list of topics will be communicated to students. They will have to form groups of three or four students and work on a short presentation on one of the previously communicated topics which they prefer most. Each group will present his work on the last day of the School (12 August), and will discuss with or answer questions from the other groups and the teachers.

Schedule

The course is organised as follows:

  • 1-morning session each day, with 3 courses each session
  • 1 or 2-afternoon sessions, with 1 course each session
  • 1 or 2-afternoon sessions, with 1 invited talk.

Requirements

This CIVIS course is open to Bachelor's, Master and PhD students at CIVIS member universities. A basic knowledge in logic is required. 

Should you have any questions, please send an e-mail to antpiccdarag@gmail.com.

Application process

Interested students should fill in the online application form by 7 June 2022.

Selected students will be notified around 17 June 2022.

Apply now

Assessment

The assessment will be based on students' attendance and short presentation.

Participants are expected to attend the course and invited talks, as well as to engage in group activities for the production of a short presentation on previously chosen topics (assigned by teachers in advance). Short presentations will be delivered and discussed during the school.

General Eligibility Criteria for CIVIS Courses

Applicants need to be enrolled at their home university in order to be eligible for selection and participation.  If uncertain about your status at your home university (part-time or exchange students etc) please check with your home university’s website or International Office. 

Applicants who will be receiving other Erasmus funds for the duration of the course are not entitled to funding. Participation in the course may still be possible under “zero-grant” status, but applicants should contact their home university in order to confirm this. 

A list of links and contacts for each university can be found in this Q&A.

GDPR Consent

The CIVIS alliance and its member universities will treat the information you provide with respect. Please refer to our privacy policy for more information on our privacy practices. By applying to this course you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

 

Click here to access this course's dedicated website

  • Constantin C. Brîncuş, Post-doctoral researcher at the University of Bucarest, where he leads the project "The Non-categoricity of Logic", and whose interests are in logic and its philosophy, theory of knowledge, and argumentation theory
  • Cesare Cozzo, Professor of logic at the Sapienza Università di Roma, gave important contributions to theory of meaning and the study of Dummett's thought
  • Enrico Moriconi, Professor of logic at the University of Pisa, who gave important contributions to (among others) proof-theory and proof-theoretic semantics
  • Paolo Pistone, Post-doctoral Researcher at the University of Bologna, whose interests are in the proof-theory of second-order logic (System F) and linear logic, as well as on related themes in Theoretical Computer Science, and parametric polymorphism