[SIGCIS-Members] 2nd CfP: Symposium on Mathematics and Computation. Historical and epistemological issues

[Liesbeth De Mol]

Dear all,

I hope the following CfP is of interest to some of you,

best wishes,
Liesbeth.


/2nd CFP: Symposium on Mathematics and Computation. Historical and 
epistemological issues/

The Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science of Ghent University was 
founded in 1993. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary the Centre 
organises an international Conference on Logic and Philosophy of Science 
(CLPS13) on the themes that are central to its research:

- Logical analysis of scientific reasoning processes
- Methodological and epistemological analysis of scientific reasoning 
processes

Conference dates: 16-18 September 2013

Keynote talks will be given by Diderik Batens (the founder of the 
Centre), three logicians (Natacha Alechina, Graham Priest and Stephen 
Read) and three philosophers of science (Hanne Andersen, Hasok Chang, 
and Jim Woodward).

We will also schedule parallel sessions with contributed papers and 
special symposia with a limited number of papers. I organise the 
symposium (#2) on

/Mathematics and Computation: Historical and epistemological issues/

Traditionally, mathematics is the home of computation. This is one of 
the reasons why ``eo ipso computers are mathematical machines'' 
(Dijkstra, 1985). Therefore, it is not surprising that when the first 
electronic computers were being developed it was to study and solve 
mathematical problems. It was partly by way of (applied) mathematics, 
viz. through the simulation of mathematical models, that the other 
sciences like biology, physics, etc started to feel the impact of the 
computer.
While several mathematicians have, in the meantime, embraced massive 
computation, this almost natural relation between computation and 
mathematics is not always evaluated positively, as witnessed, for 
instance, by some of the commotion that still surrounds 
computer-assisted proofs like the four-color theorem. Such commotion 
lays bare some fundamental issues within (the philosophy of) mathematics 
and challenges our understanding of notions such as proof, mathematical 
understanding, abstraction, etc.  Because of this natural and 
problematic relation between computation, computers and mathematics, the 
impact of computation and computers on mathematics, and vice versa, is 
far from trivial.

The aim of this special session is to bring together researchers to 
reflect on this relation by way of a historical and/or epistemological 
analysis. We welcome contributions from mathematicians, computer 
scientists, historians and philosophers with a strong interest in 
history and epistemology. Topics include but are not restricted to:
     .    discrete vs. continuous mathematics
     .    time and processes in mathematics
     .    mathematical software systems (e.g. Mathematica, Maple, etc)
     .    computer-assisted proofs (e.g. Hales' proof)
     .    "experimental" mathematics
     .    computation before or without the electronic computer
     .    numerical tables
     .    role of programs in mathematics
     .    on-line mathematics (e.g. Polymath or Sloane's encyclopedia)
     .    mathematical style(s)


If you want to present a paper at this symposium, please upload an 
abstract in PDF format (between 500 and 1000 words) to:

https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=clps13 before 1 April 2013.

You will be asked to choose between one of the following submission 
categories:

- Logical analysis of scientific reasoning processes

- Methodological and epistemological analysis of scientific reasoning 
processes

- Symposium submission

Select the last option and mention the symposium number in the title of 
your abstract.

If you do not have an EasyChair account you can create one here:

https://www.easychair.org/account/signup.cgi

Unfortunately, we cannot offer any financial support for symposium 
speakers. Neither can we waive the registration fee.

All abstracts for symposia will be refereed by the organisers and other 
members of the programme committee. Notification of acceptance will be 
given by 15 May 2013.

All further information (e.g. accommodation, registration, maps) can be 
found at the conference website: http://www.clps13.ugent.be/.

The programme will be available on the website by 1 July 2013.
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