CFP: Synthese Topical Collection "The Explanatory and Heuristic Power of Mathematics"

CFP: Synthese Topical Collection "The Explanatory and Heuristic Power of Mathematics"

Guest Editors:

Marianna Antonutti (MCPM, LMU Munich)

Sorin Bangu (University of Bergen)

Emiliano Ippoliti (Sapienza University of Rome)

Description

Mathematics is deeply intertwined with virtually all fields of scientific activity, as well as being a successful domain of inquiry in its own right. This Topical Issue focuses on the explanatory and heuristic roles that mathematics plays in applied contex ts such as the sciences, as well as in purely mathematical contexts, seeking to understand them from both conceptual and historical points of view.

We invite the submission of papers that engage with a variety of themes related to the explanatory and heuristic power of mathematics. The themes related to the explanatory power of mathematics encompass:

• how mathematics provides explanations in other fields—for example physics, chemistry, the life sciences, and the social sciences;
• how mathematics provides intra-field explanations—that is, how mathematics from one area can be used to provide explanations in other areas of mathematics;
• how philosophical attitudes towards mathematics or specific mathematical theories, such as nominalism or realism, affect the explanatory power of that theory;
• whether or not, in certain scientific explanations, it is mathematics, rather than the non-mathematical elements, that carries most of the explanatory burden.

Themes related to heuristics include:

• how mathematics can act as a heuristic engine in other fields—for example in physics, chemistry, the life sciences, and the social sciences;
• how mathematics can act as a heuristic intra-field engine—that is, how mathematics from one area can be used to pose and solve problems in other areas of mathematics (e.g. topology and algebra);
• how a heuristic view of mathematics relates to issues in philosophy of mathematics, e.g. the nature of mathematical objects, or the method of mathematical research.

Important Dates 

The submission is currently open, and will be open until 15 October 2020.

Submission Procedure

Submit your paper through the Synthese Editorial Manager. Please visit https://www.editorialmanager.com/synt/default.aspx and select the heading "T.C. : Explanatory and Heuristic Power of Mathematics" when submitting the manuscript.

Selection Procedure

Submitted papers will be peer-reviewed following the usual journal practice. Each manuscript will be assigned at least two reviewers, and requires two independent acceptance recommendations to be recommended for publication. Final decisions will be taken by Synthese's Editors in Chief, following the recommendation of the Guest Editors based on the reviewers' reports.

For any further information, please contact the Guest Editors:

• Marianna Antonutti, [email protected];
• Sorin Bangu, [email protected];
• Emiliano Ippoliti, [email protected].