Graduate School on Topological Philosophy

Thomas Mormann (University of the Basque Country, ), Roland Zarzycki (University of Wroclaw), Achille Varzi (Columbia University)

On 6-7 February 2016 a 2-day graduate-level course on topological philosophy  will be held for students and doctoral students. 

Website: http://www.icfo.ans.pw.edu.pl/en/?page_id=548

We encourage you to participate!

There will be three tutorials:

1. Basic Topology (by Roland Zarzycki)

2.  Topological Philosophy (by Thomas Mormann) 

3.  TBA (by Achille Varzi) 

If you are interested in participating or would like to find out more, please contact Bart?omiej Skowron ([email protected]). Please see also fee.
 

Basic Topology (8 hours)

The short introductory course in Topology Basic Topology will provide basic topological vocabulary as well as initial intuitions. Developing the latter is the real aim of the course. Among other topics, the course will definitely undertake the following issues and objects: topology, constructing a topology, topological spaces (examples), homeomorphisms, separation axioms, topological properties, various types of metrics, various types of connectedness, compactness. Any former mathematical background is not required, however, a basic knowledge in set theory and mathematical logic would be an advantage. The course will be based on the extensive study of examples and practical training. After the course, all participants will have acquired the necessary knowledge to take part in Professor Mormann’s Topological Philosophy course.

Topological Philosophy (4 hours)

The course consists of the following topics:

1. On the Relation between Topology and Philosophy in the 20th Century
2. Topology, Set Theory, and Category Theory
3. Topological Operators
4. Topological Epistemology
5. Vagueness in Topological Terms
6. Modality and Topology
7. The Problem of Gunk

Roland Zarzycki got his PhD in mathematics at the University of Wroclaw, successfully defending his thesis Limit groups with respect to Thompson’s group F and some other finitely generated groups in 2010. He is also a PhD candidate in the department of social sciences at the University of Wroc?aw. He is an academic teacher, researcher, author, and coordinator of scientific projects. As a specialist in algebraic topology, during his time working at the Univerity of Wroc?aw he conducted research in the field of geometric group theory, implementing a research project Limitis of Thompson’s group F. On the other hand, he was also actively developing his investigations into political philosophy (The politics of small things as the discourse of the common day ethics in the globalized world), at the New York’s New School among other places, where he stayed on a research grant. He is a frequent conference speaker, including conferences in Hoboken, NJ and Lincoln, NE. Thanks to his dual background, he is able to present advanced material from the field of mathematics in an intelligible way for students of social sciences.

Thomas Mormann is Professor of Philosophy at the University of the Basque Country in Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain. He obtained his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Dortmund (1978) and his Habilitationschrift in Philosophy, Logic and Philosophy of Science from the University of Munich (1995). He is the author of numerous papers in topological philosophy and related areas. The following ones may be mentioned: Set Theory, Topology, and the Possibility of Junky Worlds, Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 55(1), 79–90, 2014; Topological Representations of Mereological Systems, Poznan Studies In The Philosophy Of Science And The Humanities 76(2001), 467–490; Topological Aspects of Combinatorial Possibility, Logic And Logical Philosophy 5, 75-92, 1997; Trope Sheaves, A Topological Ontology of Tropes, Logic And Logical Philosophy 3, 1-22, 1996; Natural Predicates and Topological Structures of Conceptual Spaces, Synthese 95, 219-240, 1993, Topology as an Issue for Philosophy of Science, in H. Andersen, D. Dieks, W.J. Gonzalez, T. Uebel and G. Wheeler (eds.) New Challenges to Philosophy of Science, Springer, 423–434, 2013. A maxim that guides his work is Marshall Stone’s famous dictum ‘One Must Always Topologize’. In his research Mormann intends to make evident that topology could be a useful means for dealing with a variety of philosophical problems in new and fruitful ways.

Achille Varzi is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, New York (USA). A graduate of the University of Trento (Italy), he received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Toronto (Canada). His main research interests are in logic and metaphysics. He is an editor of The Journal of Philosophy, a subject editor of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and an associate or advisory editor of The Monist, Synthese, Dialectica, The Review of Symbolic Logic, and other journals. He also writes for the general public and contributes regularly to several Italian newspapers.Website: http://www.columbia.edu/~av72/.