[FOM] BUFFALO LOGIC COLLOQUIUM

[John Corcoran]

BUFFALO LOGIC COLLOQUIUM
2004-2005 THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: GOALS AND RESULTS OF FORMALIZATION: The principles
[to be applied in the construction of logic and mathematics] serve the
purpose of securing for the knowledge acquired in logic and mathematics
the highest possible degree of clarity and certainty.-Alfred Tarski,
Introduction to Logic, (1941/1946, 117). In practice, however...a gain
in exactitude and methodological correctness is accompanied by a loss in
clarity and intelligibility.-Alfred Tarski, Introduction to Logic,
(1941/1946, 174). Sometimes the treatment is more painful than the
disease and sometimes the treatment actually makes the disease
worse.-Frango Nabrasa 1956



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SIXTH MEETING 
Wed, September 22, 2004 1:00-3:00 P.M. 141 Park Hall  

SPEAKER: John Corcoran (Philosophy, University at Buffalo)
TITLE: The Architectonic Beauty of Aristotle's Logic



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SEVENTH MEETING  
Tues, October 5, 2004 4:00-5:30 P.M. 220 Clemens Hall 

SPEAKER: Volker Peckhaus (Philosophy, University of Paderborn)
TITLE: Algebra of Logic, Quantification Theory, and the Square of
Opposition

DUTCH TREAT SUPPER FOLLOWS


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EIGHTH MEETING 
Thurs, October 14, 2004
 4:00-5:30 P.M. 141 Park Hall 


SPEAKER: Barry Smith (Distinguished Professor, Philosophy, University 
at Buffalo; Research Scientist, National Center for Geographic
Information and Analysis)
TITLE: The Logic of Biological Classification
ABSTRACT: Biomedical research increasingly involves the computerized
navigation through large bodies of information deriving from research in
areas such as functional genomics or from the biochemistry of disease
pathways. To make such navigation more effective controlled vocabularies
have been developed, which are designed to allow data from different
sources to be unified. One of the most influential developments in this
regard is the so-called Gene Ontology, or GO, created in the late 1990s
by an international consortium of biologists. GO consists of a list of
some 20,000 standardized terms describing cellular constituents,
biological processes and molecular functions, organized into hierarchies
via relations of class subsumption and parthood. Here we seek to provide
a rigorous account of the logic of classification that underlies GO and
similar biomedical ontologies. Drawing on Aristotle and on Jan Berg's
formalization of Aristotle's theory of definitions, we develop a system
of axioms and definitions for the treatment of biological classes and
instances. The presentation will be accessible to a broad and diverse
audience of philosophers, biologists, computer scientists, linguists and
logicians.


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NINTH MEETING 
Fri, October 15, 2004 4:00-5:30 P.M. 141 Park Hall 

SPEAKER: Stewart Shapiro (O'Donnell Professor, Philosophy, Ohio State
University, Columbus; Fellow in Logic, University of St. Andrew,
Scotland)
TITLE: Vagueness in Context



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TENTH MEETING  
Sat., October 16, 2004 12:00-2:00 P.M. 141 Park Hall 

SPEAKER: Stewart Shapiro (O'Donnell Professor, Philosophy, Ohio State
University, Columbus; Fellow in Logic, University of St. Andrew,
Scotland)
TITLE: Corcoran as Mathematician


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ELEVENTH MEETING 
Thurs, December 2, 2004 4:00-5:30 P.M. 141 Park Hall 

SPEAKER: George Boger (Philosophy, Canisius College)
TITLE: Aristotle's Prior Analytics A7 and A23


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--ALL ARE WELCOME--

If you wish to receive this schedule via email, please send your name
and email address to John Corcoran at his email address below.

For further information call John Corcoran 881-1640 (home), 
645-2444, Ext. 119 (office)
email: corcoran at buffalo.edu
 


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