31st Novembertagung on the History and Philosophy of Mathematics

The Novembertagung is an international graduate conference on the History and Philosophy of Mathematics and neighbouring fields. It aims to provide an opportunity for graduate students at all levels to present and discuss their research in an informal and safe environment. It also allows early career researchers to share experiences, get advice, and establish new contacts.

Keynote talks:

• Tinne Hoff Kjeldsen: "A Multiple Perspective Approach to History. The Case of Mathematical Programming"
• Juliette Kennedy: "The Foundational Project. Where Do We Stand?"
• Dirk Schlimm: "Axioms in Mathematical Practice"

The full programme can be found on our website. To participate, please register here: https://novembertagung.wordpress.com/2020-axiomatics/call-for-registration/registration-form/.

On the theme: While Euclid (c. 3rd century BC) is usually celebrated as the beginning of axiomatic science, many features that are nowadays taken to be essential to axiomatics––such as the explicit statement of inference rules and the requirement of primitive, undefined notions––appear to be alien to ancient mathematics. A major contemporary change in the view on axiomatics was initiated by the adoption of the set-theoretic axiomatic framework as a foundation of mathematics in the first half of the 20th century. Proof theory and model theory subsequently developed as independent research fields and had a wide impact on philosophical thought. On the other hand, some philosophers also argue that the axiomatic view on mathematics may be harmful in that it omits fundamental aspects of mathematical practice and idealizes mathematical reasoning in an unfaithful way.

Organization: Paul Hasselkuß (Universität Düsseldorf), Tiago Hirth (ULisboa), Deborah Kant (Universität Konstanz), Deniz Sarikaya (Universität Hamburg), Tobias Schütz (Universität Mainz), Anna Kiel Steensen (ETH Zürich), and Benjamin Wilck (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin).

Support: This event is hosted by the Research Training Group Philosophy, Science and the Sciences at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and generously supported by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM),  International Commission on the History of Mathematics (ICHM), GDR 3398 “Histoire des mathématiques”, the German Society for Philosophy of Science (GWP), the Ludus association and the Schimank - Foundation.

Contact: For any query, do not hesitate to send us an e-mail at novembertagung2020 [at] gmail [dot] com. Further info can be found on our website.