Introduction to Formal Philosophy

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xx

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2. The Scope and Methods of Formal Philosophy

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Formalization

      • Sven Ove Hansson

      Pages 3-59

3. Reasoning and Inference

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 61-61

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   2. Argument

      • Henry Prakken

      Pages 63-79

   3. Formal Methods and the History of Philosophy

      • Catarina Dutilh Novaes

      Pages 81-92

   4. Nonmonotonic Reasoning

      • Alexander Bochman

      Pages 93-104

   5. Induction

      • Rafal Urbaniak, Diderik Batens

      Pages 105-130

   6. Conditionals

      • John Cantwell

      Pages 131-146

   7. Neural Network Models of Conditionals

      • Hannes Leitgeb

      Pages 147-176

   8. Proof Theory

      • Jeremy Avigad

      Pages 177-190

   9. Logics of (Formal and Informal) Provability

      • Rafal Urbaniak, Pawel Pawlowski

      Pages 191-237

4. Metaphysics and Philosophy of Language

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 239-239

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   2. Theory of Concepts

      • Erich Rast

      Pages 241-250

   3. Categories

      • Jean-Pierre Marquis

      Pages 251-271

   4. Can Natural Language Be Captured in a Formal System?

      • Martin Stokhof

      Pages 273-288

   5. Reference and Denotation

      • Robert van Rooij

      Pages 289-296

   6. Indexicals

      • Philippe Schlenker

      Pages 297-321

   7. Necessity and Possibility

      • Melvin Fitting

      Pages 323-331

   8. Bivalence and Future Contingency

      • Gabriel Sandu, Carlo Proietti, François Rivenc

      Pages 333-347

This Undergraduate Textbook introduces key methods and examines the major areas of philosophy in which formal methods play pivotal roles. Coverage begins with a thorough introduction to formalization and to the advantages and pitfalls of formal methods in philosophy. The ensuing chapters show how to use formal methods in a wide range of areas.

 

Throughout, the contributors clarify the relationships and interdependencies between formal and informal notions and constructions. Their main focus is to show how formal treatments of philosophical problems may help us understand them better. Formal methods can be used to solve problems but also to express new philosophical problems that would never have seen the light of day without the expressive power of the formal apparatus.

 

​Formal philosophy merges work in different areas of philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, computer science, linguistics, physics, psychology, biology, economics, political theory, and sociology. This title offers an accessible introduction to this new interdisciplinary research area to a wide academic audience.

• Applied Logic
• Formal Philosophy Axiology
• Decision Theory
• Epistemic Logic
• Formal Epistemology
• Formalization
• Value Theory
• formal philosophy logic
• formal philosophy mathematics
• formal philosophy computer science
• formal philosophy linguistics
• formal philosophy physics
• formal philosophy biology
• formal philosophy economics
• formal philosophy political theory
• formal philosophy social science
• formal philosophy reasoning
• formal philosophy inference
• formal philosophy metaphysics
• formal philosophy language

• Division of Philosophy, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden

  Sven Ove Hansson

• Center for Information and Bubble Studies, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  Vincent F. Hendricks

Sven Ove Hansson is professor in philosophy at the Department of Philosophy and History, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. He is editor-in-chief of Theoria and of the two book series Outstanding Contributions to Logic and Philosophy, Technology and Society. He is the author of more than 350 articles in international refereed journals and books, in research areas including logic, philosophy of science and technology, epistemology, value theory, philosophy of risk, fundamental and applied moral theory, and political philosophy. His recent books include The Ethics of Risk (2013), David Makinson on Classical Methods for Non-Classical Problems (2014, edited), Norms in Technology (2013, edited with Marc J. de Vries and Anthonie W.M. Meijers), The Role of Technology in Science: Philosophical Perspectives (2015, edited), The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis. Reasoning about Uncertainty (2016, edited with Gertrude Hirsch Hadorn, 2016), The Ethics of Technology. Methods and approaches (2017, edited), Descriptor Revision. Belief change through direct choice (2018) and Belief Change. Introduction and Overview (with Eduardo Fermé, in press). He is member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) and past president of the Society for Philosophy and Technology.

 

Vincent F. Hendricks is professor of formal philosophy at The University of Copenhagen. He is director of the Center for Information and Bubble Studies (CIBS) sponsored by the Carlsberg Foundation. Hendricks has been awarded a number of national and international prizes for his research in formal epistemology, methodology, logic, information theory, social psychology and bubble studies, among them the Elite Research Prize by the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Roskilde Festival Elite Research Prize, The Rosenkjær Prize by the Danish Broadcasting Company, and the ChoiceMagazine Outstanding Title Award. He was editor-in-chief of Synthese: An International Journal for Epistemology, Methodology and Philosophy of Science between 2005 and 2015.

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