Professor Sara Uckelman

Event details

Logic and the World: Some Reflections on the Relationship Between the Two

Formalization is a significant component of what we do when we do logic, be it mathematical, computational, or philosophical logic or otherwise.  In this process of formalization, we make decisions about what information is important to represent, and what information can be elided or discarded; about the underlying assumptions structuring this information; and what the purpose of the formalization is. All of these decisions impact on the resulting formalization (translation, representation, etc.) — e.g., whether an argument is valid will depend on what language it is translated into — and often in ways we might not necessarily notice. In this talk, I want to emphasize the importance of keeping connected to the “real world” in our logical activity, by exploring ways we can recognise and identify the consequences of our decisions and choices.