[FOM] Call for papers: Philosophy and Model Theory Conference, Paris, June 2-5, 2010

[Brice Halimi]

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 Supérieure. 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 of 
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 the 
areas of analytical philosophy and scientific linguistics. Still, model 
theory has retained its function as a standard reference language for a wide 
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 following 
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 context 
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 may 
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), Mikaël 
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).