What Is Conventionalism?

2020 ◽  
pp. 3-20
Author(s):  
Jared Warren
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Linguistic Conventions ◽  
And Mathematics

This chapter begins by briefly discussing the historical fortunes of conventionalism in logic and mathematics. After this, it clarifies the nature of conventionalism; critically discussing various ways to understand the view before arguing that conventionalism is best understood as an explanatory claim – logical and mathematical facts in any language are fully explained by the linguistic conventions of that language. The chapter then turns to discussing the notion of “explanation” itself, arguing that conventionalists don’t need to make any controversial assumptions about the nature of explanation. Finally, the chapter discusses what it is that makes a putative explanation acceptable to naturalists, singling out two key constraints on naturalistic explanations (one metaphysical and the other cognitive).

scholarly journals Licenciatura no Cenário da Educação Superior Brasileira / Degree in Scenario of the Brazilian Higher Education

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivo de Jesus Ramos ◽  
Luiz Henrique Amaral
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Public Spending ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Science And Mathematics Teachers

ABSTRACTThis research, exploratory nature, aims to identify the current scenario of degrees in Science and Mathematics in Brazil, its weaknesses and offer. The number of vacancies in the IES Degree courses in Science and Mathematics is insufficient to meet demand in teacher training in this area? That was the question that guided the investigation. In this sense, we try to see if there are no vacancies, if there was a reduction in enrollment, evaluate evasion, estimate the annual public spending on vacancies unoccupied in 2011, these degrees. In response to the question presented in this study, the results corroborate the analysis of Tardif and Lessard (2009), with the prospect of an increase in the deficit of teachers. On the other hand, the survey indicated that the financial resources expended by the Government, especially in public institutions, little impact due to the high percentage of evasion, considering the offered vacancies and loss of students during the process. About 920 million reais annually, only in public HEIs, the resources made available for training of science and mathematics teachers do not produce effective results.RESUMOEsta investigação, de natureza exploratória, tem como objetivo identificar o atual cenário das licenciaturas de Ciências e Matemática no Brasil, suas fragilidades e oferta. A oferta de vagas pelas IES nos cursos de Licenciatura em Ciências e Matemática é insuficiente para atender a demanda na formação de professores nessa área? Essa foi a questão que norteou a investigação. Nesse sentido, procuramos verificar se há falta de vagas, se houve redução das matrículas, avaliar a evasão, estimar o gasto público anual com as vagas não ocupadas, em 2011, nessas licenciaturas. Em resposta ao questionamento apresentado nesta pesquisa, os resultados corroboram com a análise de Tardif e Lessard (2009), com a perspectiva de um agravamento no déficit de professores. Por outro lado, a pesquisa apontou que os recursos financeiros despendidos pelo Governo, em especial nas Instituições Públicas, pouco efeito produzem devido ao alto percentual de evasão, considerando-se as vagas ofertadas e perda de alunos durante o processo. Cerca de 920 milhões de reais anuais, apenas nas IES Públicas, dos recursos colocados à disposição para formação de professores de Ciências e Matemática não geram resultado efetivo. Contacto principal: [email protected]

scholarly journals Which one to trust? Exploratory analysis on astrology, science and religiosity among students in Bucharest

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-133
Author(s):  
Dragoș Obreja
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
The Other ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Negative Relation ◽  
Probability Sample ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Moderate Positive Correlation

Confidence in astrology remains a visible phenomenon in contemporary society, and this is a constant topic of academic interest. A survey based on 512 valid questionnaires were obtained from a non-probability sample of university students from Bucharest, in order to observe possible statistical relations between confidence in astrology, confidence in sciences such as medicine and mathematics, but also fields such as astronomy and horoscope. On the other hand, several statements have been used to measure the level of religiosity. Notable is the moderate positive correlation obtained between astrology and astronomy, but also the strong correlation between astrology and horoscope (this last correlation was expected). Broadly speaking, it is observed that astrology correlates positively with the variables that constitute the ‘inward’ component of religiosity, while the ‘outward’ component shows a rather negative correlation, but which does not enjoy a similar statistical significance. Astronomy, like medicine, outlines negative relation with the level of religiosity. Instead, the correlations that involve trust in medicine have a negative and moderate value, in relation to religiosity. In conclusion, it is observed that the trust in “strong sciences” generates more prompt correlations compared to the trust in astrology, while further studies are needed to clarify the reasons for such uncertain correlations between astrology and religiosity.

Different modes of describing emotions in Chinese

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 307-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengdao Ye
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Full Account ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Chinese Perspective ◽  
Linguistic Conventions ◽  
Emotion Talk

This paper examines the different ways in which the body is linguistically codified in the Chinese language of emotions. The three general modes of emotion description under examination are via (a) externally observable (involuntary) bodily changes, (b) sensation, and (c) figurative bodily images. While an attempt is made to introduce a typology of sub-categories within each mode of emotion description, the paper focuses on the meaning of different iconic descriptions through the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM). On one hand, the linguistic evidence, from a Chinese perspective, attests to the emotional universals proposed by Wierzbicka (1999). On the other, it points to cultural diversity in bodily conceptualisation and interpretation in emotional experiences, which are crystallised in linguistic conventions of Chinese emotion talk, including certain syntactic constructions. This paper also demonstrates the importance of examining the language of emotions in emotion studies, and concludes that a full account of emotions must include the examination of the language of emotions.

Philosophy and Non-Euclidean Geometry

1919 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 196-198
Author(s):  
F. A. Foraker
Keyword(s):  
Euclidean Geometry ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Rank ◽  
Non Euclidean Geometry ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
A Minor

Leibnitz and Descartes made remarkable contributions to both mathematics and philosophy. Newton obtains a high rank in the history of the former subject, but only a minor place in the history of philosophy, while Kant, who possessed a well-founded knowledge of the science and mathematics of his time, receives one of the foremost positions in the history of philosophy. Upon the basis of these facts, if we neglect a few of the lesser lights, the statement is often made that there is a relationship between the study of mathematics and the study of philosophy, and that he who studies one of them will also find himself a devotee in the pursuit of the other.

scholarly journals Computational Thinking in Mathematics and Computer Science: What Programming Does to Your Head

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 346-363
Author(s):  
Al Cuoco ◽  
Paul Goldenberg
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Classical Result ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Computer Programs ◽  
The Other ◽  
Greatest Common Divisor ◽  
Euclid’S Algorithm ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Euclid's Algorithm

How you think about a phenomenon certainly influences how you create a program to model it. The main point of this essay is that the influence goes both ways: creating programs influences how you think. The programs we are talking about are not just the ones we write for a computer. Programs can be implemented on a computer or with physical devices or in your mind. The implementation can bring your ideas to life. Often, though, the implementation and the ideas develop in tandem, each acting as a mirror on the other. We describe an example of how programming and mathematics come together to inform and shape our interpretation of a classical result in mathematics: Euclid's algorithm that finds the greatest common divisor of two integers.

scholarly journals ‘I found this written in the other book’: Learning Astronomy in Late Medieval Monasteries

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 129-144
Author(s):  
Seb Falk
Keyword(s):  
Natural Sciences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Scientific Skills ◽  
Astronomical Instrument

Recent histories have challenged narratives of a late medieval decline in monastic scholarship. This article extends that work to the natural sciences, showing how monks could learn astronomy and mathematics through their scholarly labour of reading, copying and glossing. Although the processes of learning are often poorly documented, and are often conflated with teaching, it is possible, through close reading of annotations and reconstruction of mathematical processes, to get a glimpse of an individual in the moment of acquiring scientific skills. Focusing on a piece of adaptive copying carried out by an English Benedictine monk c.1380, this article explores the devotional motivations underlying his work, and argues that it was through such copying and compilation that he acquired the expertise necessary to invent an astronomical instrument some years later.

Formenanalyse bei Marx und ihr Verhältnis zur Systemwissenschaft / Analysis of forms by Marx and its relation to systems research

1975 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner Loh
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Logic ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Empirical Logic ◽  
Formal Concepts ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Different Levels

AbstractMARX’s analysis of forms and modern systems research have in common the problem of form. MARX analyzed forms by functionally relating elements to each other on different levels. Contrary to modern systems theories and Marxism-Leninism elements are for MARX forms themselves and not non-formal elementary qualities. The analysis of forms, therefore, is able to characterize its objects only relationally-functionally. On the other hand modern systems theories integrate concepts like ‚action‘ or ‚goal‘ in an elementaristic manner. The analysis of forms must be controlled by systematic concretization and totalization adequate to the problem. The formal concepts of systems research are often interpreted as logical-mathematical. Logic and mathematics are usually understood as non-empirical. Empirical analysis of forms is in need of an empirical logic and mathematics.

“Between Worlds,” or an Imagined Reminiscence by Oskar Morgenstern about Equilibrium and Mathematics in the 1920s

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Leonard
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Business Cycle ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Doctoral Thesis ◽  
University Of Vienna ◽  
Great City ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The University

“Iwas born in 1902 in Görlitz, a small provincial town in Germany, and raised in Vienna, the great city of the multinational Austro-Hungarian empire. On my father's side, my family goes back to about 1530 in Saxony, my Lutheran forebears having been farmers, church wardens, judges, and businessmen. My mother was a natural daughter of Frederick III of Germany …”Yet another account of myself, for yet another encyclopaedia. Italian, this time. Once again, I put pen to paper and collapse the events of fifty years ago to a few familiar milestones. Now what shall I tell these Italians?“I finished the Gymnasium and took my Dr. Rer. Pol. at the University of Vienna in 1925. Awarded a Rockefeller Memorial Fellowship, I spent the next three years in England, the United States, France and Italy. Returning to Vienna, I soon became Docent, later Professor, at the University, and Director of the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research …”And then there will be the doctoral thesis, Wirtschaftsprognose, the other Institute, Princeton, and so on. It is remarkable really, the rehearsed inevitability of it all … So often have I gone through exercises of this kind that there are times when I even begin to believe them myself.

Shadows of Syntax

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared Warren
Keyword(s):  
Logical Pluralism ◽  
Mathematical Truth ◽  
Ontological Commitments ◽  
Linguistic Rules ◽  
Linguistic Conventions ◽  
Popular View ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
Epistemology Of Logic ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Algorithmic Process

What is the source of logical and mathematical truth? This volume revitalizes conventionalism as an answer to this question. Conventionalism takes logical and mathematical truth to have their source in linguistic conventions. This was an extremely popular view in the early 20th century, but it was never worked out in detail and is now almost universally rejected in mainstream philosophical circles. In Shadows of Syntax, Jared Warren offers the first book-length treatment and defense of a combined conventionalist theory of logic and mathematics. He argues that our conventions, in the form of syntactic rules of language use, are perfectly suited to explain the truth, necessity, and a priority of logical and mathematical claims. In Part I, Warren explains exactly what conventionalism amounts to and what linguistic conventions are. Part II develops an unrestricted inferentialist theory of the meanings of logical constants that leads to logical conventionalism. This conventionalist theory is elaborated in discussions of logical pluralism, the epistemology of logic, and of the influential objections that led to the historical demise of conventionalism. Part III aims to extend conventionalism from logic to mathematics. Unlike logic, mathematics involves both ontological commitments and a rich notion of truth that cannot be generated by any algorithmic process. To address these issues Warren develops conventionalist-friendly but independently plausible theories of both metaontology and mathematical truth. Finally, Part IV steps back to address big picture worries and meta-worries about conventionalism. This book develops and defends a unified theory of logic and mathematics according to which logical and mathematical truths are reflections of our linguistic rules, mere shadows of syntax.

Maureen Pytlik

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Bakan
Keyword(s):  
Music Theory ◽  
West African ◽  
The Other ◽  
The West ◽  
African Dance ◽  
Hard Time ◽  
Clarinet Performance ◽  
West African Dance ◽  
And Mathematics

In 2017, Maureen Pytlik graduated from Ottawa’s Carleton University with degrees major in both clarinet performance and mathematics. Her curriculum also included advanced music theory studies and West African drumming and dance. She describes her West African dance experiences as transformative. “I was quite happy to open up and be awkwardly uncoordinated,” she relates, “because it was something that created a lot of group bonding in a way. Feeling part of the group was very important to me because having Asperger’s means it’s not something that I experience easily.” African dance, and drumming too, helped Maureen to navigate a dichotomy which has been difficult for her to manage in her life, and one that she identifies closely with having Asperger’s: the conflicting pulls of competing desires for control and freedom. “I am pulled in these two different directions,” she acknowledges. “My modes of being can fluctuate between the two styles of having control and experiencing freedom, but I have a hard time (as with any polar opposites) hovering in the middle between them without gravitating toward one extreme or the other at any given time.” Music and dance, especially of the West African variety, have enabled her to move closer to achieving that elusive balance.

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