2-5 June 2010
Paris, France
International Conference PHILOSOPHY AND MODEL THEORY: History and Contemporary Developments, Philosophical Issues and Applications. Paris, June 2-5, 2010 What? Who? Where? This is a conference on Model Theory from a philosophical perspective. The conference is supported by the Institute of Philosophical Research (EA 373) and the "Knowledge, Language and Modelling" Graduate School (ED 139) of the University Paris Ouest Nanterre, and by the Institute of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST). It will be held in Paris from June 2 to June 5, 2010 at the University Paris Ouest and at the Ecole Normale Suprieure. Conference organizers are Denis Bonnay, Brice Halimi and Jean-Michel Salanskis. Call for papers We welcome any submission in the following areas, broadly construed: 1) history of model theory, 2) contemporary developments of model theory, 3) philosophical issues related to model theory, 4) applications of model theory outside of mathematics. Given that the conference's main perspective is philosophical, submissions in area 2) should be targeted so as to be of interest to a general audience. Deadline for submission: February 1st, 2010 (Notification of acceptance by March 15th, 2010). Submissions should consist of anonymous abstracts of no more than 3 pages, single spaced, 11pt, including title and references (preferred formats for submission are pdf and Word). Abstracts should be sent electronically to: philosophyandmodeltheory2010 [at] gmail.com. Authors should include their name, title of the paper, affiliation and contact information in the body o f the email. Abstracts will be reviewed by the organizers and additional reviewers. Limited fundings might be available for contributed speakers. Speakers from underfunded countries who would like to benefit from such a funding are invited to mention it in their submission. Please also note the conference website: http://www.u-paris10.fr/91815809/0/fiche___pagelibre/&RH=depphiloacc&RF =1257591848904 Conference description Model theory seems to have reached its zenith in the sixties and the seventies, when it was seen by many as virtually identical to mathematical logic. Thirty or forty years later, the situation has decidedly changed, as other perspectives have all but replaced model theory, as for example in th e areas of analytical philosophy and scientific linguistics. Still, model theory has retained its function as a standard reference language for a wid e variety of perspectives, fields and problems. At the same time, as a branch of mathematical logic, it has given rise to a number of important developments. The aim of the conference is to take stock of the current situation, viewing it from a variety of perspectives, of which the followin g are but possible examples: 1) History. Model theory now has a history, associated to a large extent with Tarski. At the same time, a distinction ought to be made between logical semantics (i.e., the theory of truth as Tarski developed it around 1935), and model theory properly speaking. We would welcome any discussions shedding light on that evolution. 2) Technicalities. Over the course of its brief history, model theory (and logical semantics) has studied the degrees of freedom that theories and their interpretation structures permit each other, mainly within the contex t of set theory. Still, its fundamental core has been thought of as open to modifications (in particular so as to match category theory), and different notions of model have been defined so as to allow for completeness theorems corresponding to different logics. Cogent discussions of these and related issues are also solicited. 3) Applications. Model theory and logical semantics have also been used as a kind of rational pattern and as a guide for scientific study in other areas . We invite talks having to do with all such applications of model theory -- in linguistics, cognitive science, economics, etc. 4) Philosophy. Finally, model theory and logical semantics have been viewed as the most exact means with which to account for the fundamental philosophical problem of truth and knowledge. For that reason, numerous philosophical studies have been molded by model theory. This development ma y be seen in philosophy of mathematics, but also in theory of knowledge, in metaphysics, in esthetics and in general philosophy. Talks exploring such issues would be most welcome. Invited Speakers John Baldwin (University of Illinois at Chicago), Timothy Bays (University of Notre Dame), John Bell (University of Western Ontario), Denis Bonnay (University Paris Ouest), Thierry Coquand (University of Gothenburg), Mika l Cozic (University Paris XII), Brice Halimi (University Paris Ouest), Joel Hamkins (CUNY), Martin Hils (University Paris VII), Paolo Mancosu (UC Berkeley), David Nicolas (Institut Jean Nicod), Alejandro Perez-Carballo (MIT), Bruno Poizat (University Lyon I), Philippe de Rouilhan (IHPST), Jean-Michel Salanskis (University Paris Ouest), Hourya Sinaceur (IHPST), Jamie Tappenden (University of Michigan), Pierre Wagner (University Paris I).