About

In this online masterclass, each of the 14 participating graduate students will write a research paper under the supervision of expert mentors from philosophy of science and philosophy of mathematics. Students can apply for different mentors and they will be matched with the mentors according to their interests.

As a participant of this masterclass, you will get:
  1. virtual career coaching by your academic mentor,
  2. an online conference on 5th/6th September 2020 where the student papers will be presented and discussed,
  3. feedback on your paper by your mentor.

The organisers will edit a special issue of KRITERION — Journal of Philosophy (http://www.kriterion-journal-of-philosophy.org/kriterion/), where the participants, mentors and invited experts can submit their work.

Please note that all articles will go through double-blind peer-review and acceptance for the masterclass does not guarantee acceptance of your paper.
-where? -
Online (hosted by the London School of Economics)

​-when?-
Summer 2020 to December 2020
​
​-who?-
14 Mentees and 11 Mentors

​-what?-
1 supervised paper per participant
1 special issue of KRITERION
1 Online conference
We are looking forward to our virtual conference from 2020-9-5 to 2020-9-6

Mentors

Neil Barton
University of Konstanz
Karen Crowther
University of Oslo
​John Kadvany
Policy and Decision Science
Philip Kitcher
Columbia University
Brendan Larvor
University of Hertfordshire 
Patricia Palacios
University of Salzburg
Colin Rittberg
Loughborough University
Lorenzo Rossi
MCMP, LMU Munich
Timothy Williamson
University of Oxford
Wesley Wrigley
University of Oxford
Lena Zuchowski
University of Bristol

Topic(s)

The overarching theme of this masterclass is the analysis of a ‘practical turn’ in the philosophy of mathematics. Is this turn analogous to the practical turn in philosophy of sciences? Should it be? What is the exact role of the empirical studies of mathematical practice (e.g. mathematics education, sociology of mathematic, etc.)? How should these interact with the philosophy of mathematics? In particular, we want to encourage work in the following three areas:
  1. We want to draw attention to the seminal work of Imre Lakatos: a) he was a key figure in developing early themes after the practical turn in the philosophy of physics in form of his idea of ‘research programmes’. b) His work in the philosophy of mathematics was a turning point for the discipline. Lakatos particularly aimed at transferring insights from his work on the philosophy of science to the philosophy of mathematics. However, he did not have enough time to develop these ideas before his early death. 
  2. Additionally, we want to encourage work on the interplay of the philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of science. One might tackle questions such as: should philosophy of science conferences have tracks for philosophy of mathematics? What was the role of Tarski when the two disciplines split up? How close should the philosophy of mathematics community be to the logic community? What should we make of the growing community of philosophers of mathematical practice as well as the cooperation with other disciplines (such as ethno-mathematical studies, mathematical education, cognitive sciences, etc)?
  3. Another possible string of investigation is the analysis of new scientific methodologies in the philosophy of mathematics. To what extent are they philosophically significant? How can they inform a philosopher of mathematics? An analogous problem has already arisen for philosophy of science in relation to science studies.

Organisers

Sophie Nagler
University of Oxford
Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy
​Hannah Pillin
London School of Economics
Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy
Deniz Sarikaya
University of Hamburg

Partners