The Forgotten Giants: From τὰ Μαθήματα to Mathematical Sciences – Convoluted Ways of Integration of Mathematics into Western Learning

call for papers

September 14–16, 2026

Center for the Philosophy of Nature, University of Lodz, Lindley St. 3/5 Łódź 90-131 Poland

The Forgotten Giants:  From τὰ Μαθήματα to Mathematical Sciences – Convoluted Ways of Integration of Mathematics into Western Learning.

Throughout the history of Western philosophy, projects of mathematisation have arisen in resurgent waves, often provoking resistance that led to periods of retreat. From ancient Pythagorean and Platonic schemes to medieval attempts to interweave mathematics with the fabric of natural philosophy and theology, the role of mathematics has been repeatedly advanced and contested. This long and often conflictual process culminated in the seventeenth-century, when the mathematisation of the scientific worldview achieved an unprecedented triumph, in a striking twist leading to the emancipation of science from its philosophical matrix.

Yet this triumph was not solely the work of the canonical figures we usually celebrate. It was also prepared, supported, and driven forward by a host of lesser-known thinkers, whose roles have too often been neglected.

The third edition of The Forgotten Giants Conference aims precisely to recover and re-examine these “forgotten giants” – figures who, through their contributions to mathematics, natural philosophy, and even ethics and theology, played significant but underappreciated roles in the mathematisation of Western knowledge. We invite papers that explore these hidden, neglected, or underestimated figures, ideas, and works that shaped the mathematization of philosophy and the sciences throughout different historical periods.

practical information

The conference will be held at the University of Lodz, Poland.

We expect to be able to cover accommodation, lunches, and a conference dinner for accepted speakers. However, please note that we cannot provide funding for travel.

Selected papers will be considered for publication in a post-conference volume.

application information

We welcome submissions of abstracts (max. 500 words) by April 30, 2026. 

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by May 31, 2026.

Please submit your abstracts to: [email protected]

organising committee

Professor Elżbieta Jung, PhD, MSc (Director of the Center for the Philosophy of Nature, University of Lodz)

Professor Robert Podkoński, PhD (Chair of the Organizing Committee)

Marcin Leszczyński, PhD (Secretary of the Conference)

Professor Joanna Papiernik, PhD

Professor Bartosz Żukowski, PhD