364 research outputs found
Lagrange and Mozart as critics of Descartes
This article traces three lines of positive and negative influence which emanated from Descartes's Discours sur la méthode (1637), orat least were closely linked to it. Three areas of concern are involved: the relationship between geometry and algebra, celestial mechanics, and physiological psychology. The two critics of the title were contemporaries: reasons for their surprising conjunction will emerge at the en
In memoriam Kurt Gošdel: His 1931 correspondence with zermelo on his incompletability theorem
SummariesShortly after publishing his now famous incompletability theorem in 1931, Kurt Gošdel and Ernst Zermelo corresponded about the nature and significance of Gošdel's result. The texts of the surviving letters are presented, preceded by an explanation of the circumstances of the correspondence and an indication of the historical significance of the points discussed
LâingĂ©nieur-savant, 1800-1830
Entre 1794 (crĂ©ation de lâĂcole polytechnique) et 1830, une catĂ©gorie particuliĂšre anima un Ăąge dâor de la science en France : celle des « ingĂ©nieurs-savants ». Savants â ingĂ©nieurs, ils appliquent leurs connaissances scientifiques Ă lâindustrie issue de la rĂ©volution industrielle. En retour (plus original), ingĂ©nieurs â savants, ils crĂ©ent de nouvelles branches de la science fondamentale en les nourrissant de leurs rĂ©sultats « de terrain »
Was Hugh MacColl a logical pluralist or a logical monist? A case study in the slow emergence of metatheorising
Dans la seconde moitiĂ© des annĂ©es 1900, Bertrand Russell et Hugh MacColl Ă©changĂšrent sans sâentendre sur les questions de lâimplication et de lâexistence, dans le cadre dâun dĂ©bat plus gĂ©nĂ©ral sur la nature de la logique. Il est tentant de voir dans cet Ă©change une opposition entre le moniste logique Russell et le pluraliste MacColl. Dans cet article, jâaffirme que cette interprĂ©tation est inexacte, et que les deux hommes Ă©taient tous deux monistes, bien quâayant des allĂ©geances diffĂ©rentes. La transition du monisme au pluralisme ne sâeffectue en rĂ©alitĂ© quâĂ partir du dĂ©but des annĂ©es 1910, peu aprĂšs la mort de MacColl en 1909. Les premiers signes de cette transition sont Ă trouver particuliĂšrement chez le philosophe amĂ©ricain C. I. Lewis, le mathĂ©maticien nĂ©erlandais L. E. J. Brouwer, et le logicien polonais Jan Ćukasiewicz. Ces auteurs sont des exemples de lâavĂšnement graduel de la mĂ©talogique.In the mid- and late 1900s Bertrand Russell and Hugh MacColl had a non-discussion about implication and existence, as parts of a dispute over the nature of logic. We are tempted to see this debate in terms of logical monist Russell against logical pluralist MacColl, but I argue that this interpretation is inaccurate; each man was a logical monist, but with different allegiances. The transition from monism to pluralism began to occur from the early 1910s onwards, soon after MacCollâs death in 1909; early traces will be found especially in the American philosopher C. I. Lewis, the Dutch mathematician L. E. J. Brouwer, and the Polish logician Jan Ćukasiewicz. They form examples of the gradual rise of metalogic
LâingĂ©nieur-savant, 1800-1830
Entre 1794 (crĂ©ation de lâĂcole polytechnique) et 1830, une catĂ©gorie particuliĂšre anima un Ăąge dâor de la science en France : celle des « ingĂ©nieurs-savants ». Savants â ingĂ©nieurs, ils appliquent leurs connaissances scientifiques Ă lâindustrie issue de la rĂ©volution industrielle. En retour (plus original), ingĂ©nieurs â savants, ils crĂ©ent de nouvelles branches de la science fondamentale en les nourrissant de leurs rĂ©sultats « de terrain »
Les discours dâouverture de Charles Dupin au Conservatoire
Au dĂ©but de chaque annĂ©e universitaire, Dupin commençait son cours par une confĂ©rence gĂ©nĂ©rale sur une question de nature politique ou culturelle. Je passerai en revue ces confĂ©rences, et tout particuliĂšrement celles qui ont fait sensation. Un nouveau genre dâinitiative Lorsque Dupin fut nommĂ© « Professeur de mĂ©canique appliquĂ©e aux arts » au Conservatoire des arts et mĂ©tiers en 1819, il conçut lâidĂ©e de commencer son cours chaque annĂ©e par un « discours dâouverture », exposĂ© public sur un su..
Using experimental research designs to explore the scope of cumulative culture in humans and other animals
In humans, cultural evolutionary processes are capable of shaping our cognition, because the conceptual tools we learn from others enable mental feats which otherwise would be beyond our capabilities. This is possible because human culture supports the inter-generational accumulation of skills and knowledge, such that later generations can benefit from the experience and exploration efforts of their predecessors. However, it remains unclear how exactly human social transmission supports the accumulation of advantageous traits, and why we see little evidence of this in the natural behaviour of other species. Thus, it is difficult to know whether the cognitive abilities of other animals might be similarly scaffolded by processes of cultural evolution. In this article I discuss how experimental studies of cultural evolution have contributed to our understanding of human cumulative culture, as well as some of the limitations of these approaches. I also discuss how similar research designs can be used to evaluate the potential for cumulative culture in other species. Such research may be able to clarify what distinguishes human cumulative culture from related phenomena in nonhumans, shedding light on the issue of whether other species also have the potential to develop cognitive capacities that are outcomes of cultural evolution
A survey of the life of Hugh MacColl (1837-1909)
Introduction Contrary to a widespread assumption the modern history of modal logic did not start with C. I. Lewisâ Survey of Symbolic Logic [Lewis 1918]. His eminent work was preceded by some 20 years by H. MacCollâs fifth article on âThe Calculus of Equivalent Statementsâ. This article was read at the London Mathematical Society on 12 November 1896. Some months later it was published in the Societyâs Proceedings [MacColl 1896-1897]. During the following years MacColl presented his logic prim..
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