Logic List Mailing Archive

Cultures of Mathematics and Logic

9-12 Nov 2012
Guangzhou, China

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

          Cultures of Mathematics and Logic
               9-12 November 2012
          Institute for Logic and Cognition
              Sun Yat-Sen University
                Guangzhou, China
  http://www.math.uni-hamburg.de/home/loewe/Guangzhou2012/

Mathematics and formal reasoning are fundamental building blocks of knowledge, 
essential for science, technology, policy-making and risk-management. 
Mathematical practice is a rich phenomenon of human activity, with subtle 
differences between various cultures: here, the word culture can refer to 
national cultures, but also cultural differences in different historical 
periods, in different strata of a given society, in different social settings.

And yet, the public perception of mathematics is of an apersonal subject with 
little or no human interaction, based on a false picture of a science of pure 
thought and deduction, with almost no interaction or visible activity.

In a move away from these traditionalist positions, philosophers and social 
scientists have recently become more interested in studying mathematical and 
logical practice, or, to be precise, different mathematical and logical 
practices. Our conference will focus on this plurality of viewpoints, studying 
the various cultures of mathematics and logic, and involve several disciplines 
such as philosophy, sociology, psychology, cognitive science, history of 
mathematics, mathematics education, and linguistics.

Keynote Speakers.

* Andrea Bender. Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
* Karine Chemla. Equipe Recherches Epistémologiques et Historiques sur les
   Sciences Exactes et les Institutions Scientifiques (REHSEIS), Paris,
   France.
* Christian Greiffenhagen. University of Manchester, Manchester, United
   Kingdom.
* Shirong Guo. Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, China.
* Juan Pablo Mejía Ramos. Rutgers University, Piscataway NJ, United States
   of America.
* Reviel Netz. Stanford University, Stanford CA, United States of America.
* Zhaoshi Zeng. Sun Yat-Sen University. Guangzhou, China.

Programme Committee. Mihir Chakraborty, Jadavpur University, India; Shuchun 
Guo, Chinese Academy of Science, China; Joachim Kurtz, 
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany; Brendan Larvor, University of 
Hartfordshire, United Kingdom; Benedikt Löwe, Universiteit van Amsterdam, The 
Netherlands; Martina Merz, Universität Luzern, Switzerland; Dirk Schlimm, 
McGill University, Canada; Ju Shier, Sun Yat-sen University, China

Local information. Guangzhou, known historically as Canton, is located in 
southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km north-northwest of Hong Kong. 
With over 12 million inhabitants, it is the third largest city in China (after 
Shanghai and Beijing) and the largest city of southern China. In the month of 
November, expected temperatures are between 15 and 24 degrees. Baiyun 
International Airport is a major transportation hub with many national and 
international airlines (for instance, Air France, China Southern Airlines, 
Emirates, Lufthansa, etc.). In addition, Guangzhou is easy to reach from Hong 
Kong with its international airport.