The Logic and Metaphysics Workshop will meet on November 11th from 4:15-6:15 in-person at the Graduate Center (Room 4419) for a talk by Friederike Moltmann (CNRS).

Title: On the ontology and semantics of absence

Abstract: This talk proposes a new semantic analysis of verbs of absence such as ‘lack’ and ‘be missing’. The semantics is based on the notion of a conceptual whole and its (conceptual) parts, which generates both variable embodiments (of the whole and its structural parts) and modal objects of the sort of a ‘lack’. It involves an extension of truthmaker semantics (applied to modal objects) where truthmakers (satisfiers) now include parts of wholes. The talk rehabilitates entities of the sort of ‘lacks’ often subject to ridicule, most notoriously by Chomsky.

The Logic and Metaphysics Workshop will meet on November 4th from 4:15-6:15 in-person at the Graduate Center (Room 4419) for a talk by Elena Ficara (Paderborn).

Title: Logic and discrimination

Abstract: My talk is about the connection between logic and discrimination, with special focus on Plumwood’s ideas in her groundbreaking article ‘The Politics of Reason. Towards a Feminist Logic’ (1993). Although Plumwood’s paper is not focused on the notion of discrimination, what she writes is useful for illuminating some basic mechanisms of thought that are at the basis of discriminatory practices. After an introductory section about the concepts of logic and discrimination at the basis of my analysis, I present Plumwood’s ideas in 1993 with a special focus on their relevance for understanding the nature of discrimination. More specifically, I use examples of discriminatory practices that make the connection between logical operations and oppression envisaged by Plumwood clear. I focus especially on two questions: Can logic produce discrimination? Can logic contribute to the fight against discrimination? If so, how?

The Logic and Metaphysics Workshop will meet on November 25th from 4:15-6:15 in-person at the Graduate Center (Room 4419) for a talk by Damian Szmuc (Buenos Aires).

Title: More semantics for Angell’s logic of Analytic Containment

Abstract: This presentation aims to explore new semantics for Angell’s logic of Analytic Containment through the discussion of the topic-transformativeness of negation. For this purpose, we review some new developments by Song, Omori, Arenhart, and Tojo on two-address valuations for topic-transparent logics related to content inclusion, and extend their techniques for Angell’s logic of Analytic Containment. In particular, we present a 4-valued non-deterministic and a 16-valued deterministic semantics, both obtained through direct products of De Morgan lattices and involutive semilattices.

The Logic and Metaphysics Workshop will meet on October 28th from 4:15-6:15 in-person at the Graduate Center (Room 4419) to celebrate its 10th Anniversary. For this special occasion, there will be a panel discussing (inter alia) currents trends in, and the future of, Logic and Metaphysics.

Topic: The present and future of logic and metaphysics

Panelists: Hartry Field (NYU), Mel Fitting (CUNY), Noah Greenstein (Independent Scholar), Graham Priest (CUNY), and Achille Varzi (Columbia)