PH01101 Indeterminacy and the law of excluded middle

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2015
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Petr Dvořák, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Josef Krob, CSc.
Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Hana Holmanová
Supplier department: Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 10:50–12:25 G24
Prerequisites
Successful completion of a basic course in logic: competence in classical propositional and predicate logics.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The goal of the course is to gain insight into the problem to what extent is logic, traditionally understood as a genuine a priori discipline, dependent on reality. The student will become familiar with the question of the relationship between logic and metaphysics within a particular case. The study will focus on the principle of excluded middle in the so-called indeterminate situations, especially in the areas of future contingents, quantum phenomena (in relation to the possibility of ascription of physically relevant properties) and in relation to so-called ontically vague objects. The student will gain orientation and basic competence in several areas of the contemporary analytic metaphysics and philosophical logic. He/she will also become familiar with historical roots of the problems in ancient and medieval philosophy (Aristotle, Ockham, etc.). The course focuses on the following current discussions in analytic philosophy: debate on the notion of consequence, the issue of logical pluralism, two-dimensionalism, the problem whether there is something metaphysically indeterminate (ontic vagueness), future contingents and determinism, temporal logic, supervaluations, the problem of interpretation of quantum physics, quantum logic.
Syllabus
  • Logic pure and applied. The relationship between logic and the world. The concepts of consequence and logical truth. Logical pluralism and monism. Two-dimensional perspective. The principle of excluded middle and the principle of bivalence. The problem of ontically indeterminate situation: future contingents (FC), quantum phenomena, ontic vagueness. The logic of indeterminate statements – FC statements in medieval and contemporary analytic philosophy, statements about measured values of observable variables. The problem of vagueness (epistemic, semantic and metaphysical). “Ontic vagueness” (metaphysical indeterminacy). Multi-valued approach and supervaluations. Temporal logic and “the thin red line” (Ockham, Prior, current debate) Quantum logic.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Barnes E., Williams, J. R. (2011), "A Theory of Metaphysical Indeterminacy", Oxford Studies in Metaphysics vol. 6., K. Bennett, D. W. Zimmerman (eds.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, s. 103-14
  • Beall, J. C., Restall, G. (2006) Logical Pluralism, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Birkhoff, G., Neumann, J. von (1936), "The Logic of Quantum Mechanics", The Annals of Mathematics, 2. řada, sv. 37, č. 4, s. 823-843.
  • Evans, G. (1978) "Can There Be Vague Objects?" Analysis (48), s. 130-134.
  • van Fraassen, B., (1966) "Singular Terms, Truth-Value Gaps, and Free Logic", The Journal of Philosophy, (63), č. 17, s. 481-495.
  • Garcia-Carpintero, M., Macia, J. (2006) Two-Dimensional Semantics, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Gaskin, R. (1995), The Sea Battle and the Master Argument: Aristotle and Diodorus Cronus on the Metaphysics of the Future. W. De Gruyter.
  • Łukasiewicz, J. (1970) "On Three-valued Logic", Selected Works, L. Borkowski (ed.), North Holland, s. 87-88.
  • Prior, A. N. (1967) Past, Present and Future, Clarendon, Oxford.
  • Reichenbach, H. (1944) Philosophic Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.
  • Shapiro, S., (1998) "Logical Consequence: Models and Modality", In Matthias Schirn (ed.), The Philosophy of Mathematics Today. Clarendon Press. s. 131-156.
  • Thomason, R. H. (1970) "Indeterminist Time and Truth-value Gaps", Theoria. A Swedish Journal of Philosophy (36), č. 3, s. 264–281.
Teaching methods
lectures, discussion
Assessment methods
Oral exam at the end of the course.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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