International Conference “Kurt Gödel philosopher : from logic to cosmology”.
Aix-en-Provence July 11-13, 2013
Final event of a four-year project funded by the French Research Association (ANR) 2009-2013.

1/ Présentation

2/ L'appel à proposition

3/ Informations générales

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1 — Présentation

Mainly known to the public because of his incompleteness theorems proved in 1931, the mathematician-philosopher Kurt Gödel (1906-1978) also made seminal contributions to the domain of set-theory (1941) and relativist cosmology (1949). Gödel thus was (together with Henri Poincaré, Hermann Weyl, Wolfgang Pauli and some others) one of the last “savants universels” in 20th century, thanks to his capacity for making fundamental, innovatory scientific contributions to different domains of knowledge. Gödel’s epistemological point of view is related to a philosophical search for a unifying framework and systematic Weltanschauung to be obtained by means of a continuous dialogue with the conceptions of past philosophical theories and with the crucial problems of contemporary science.

The constitution of this unifying framework should not only allow significant progress in knowledge as a whole, but also help humankind to answer traditional problems concerning the meaning of the world and our place in it. These two aspects of Kurt Gödel (a close friend of Albert Einstein during his stay at Princeton) explain his being an emblematic figure of the Mittel-European and Viennese diaspora escaping to the United States after the war.

The cultural world’s recent attraction to Gödel (exemplified by an increasing artistic production inspired by his personality) might be related to the originality of his approach. In a cultural world where scientific production is guided by specialization, Gödel developed researches that cross the border of different disciplines. Against the tendency of science to let no space to fundamental human questions (What is the meaning of the world ? Why do we exist ? How should we conceive the existence of evil, pain and death ?), Gödel devoted himself without hesitation to a kind of philosophy that was extraneous to the mentality of post-modernism and nearer to the systems of thought developed in the 17th century by Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz.

Offering the possibility of a discussion on the originality of Gödel’s thought, the international conference « Kurt Gödel philosopher : from logic to cosmology » closes the first phase of a scientific project developed by the Centre d’Epistémologie de l’Université Aix-Marseille (CEPERC).

The project, conceived by Gabriella Crocco already in 2005, aims at publishing the unpublished manuscripts by Kurt Gödel, which were not included in the Collected Works published by Oxford University Press because of a lack of means and time. The editorial committee composed by members of the American Mathematical Society and directed by S. Feferman and J. Dawson had suggested and clearly indicated some texts contained in Gödel’s Archive that were worth further inquiry and publication.

The Centre d’Epistémologie de l’Université Aix-Marseille (CEPERC) bought a copy of the microfilms of these texts in the archives in Princeton and organized an international research group to further investigate the manuscripts, thanks to funding by the French Research Association (ANR) starting in September 2009 under the direction of Gabriella Crocco. The aim of this four-year project is the edition of the philosophical texts written by Gödel between 1939 and 1955, i.e. Of his fifteen philosophical notebooks written in Gabelsberger, a German stenographic writing system that is now obsolete. Like Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Observations, the notebooks contain remarks concerning different domains of knowledge, ranging from exact sciences (mathematics and physics) to social sciences (philosophy, psychology, biology, law and history).

The ANR funding has allowed

a) to form experts able to transcribe the texts from Gabelsberger into German standard writing
b) to prepare a French translation of the German version
c) to develop a critical apparatus that will be added to the manuscript in the final publication.

The international conference organized in Aix-en-Provence in July 11-13, 2013 has the aim of presenting the results of the four year project, and in particular to present the transcription of notebooks IX-XV from 1939 to 1946, to investigate the main themes discussed in the notebooks, and to evaluate the progress allowed by these new material to the understanding of the scientific and philosophical thought of Gödel).

International Conference “Kurt Gödel philosopher : from logic to cosmology”.
Aix-en-Provence July 11-13, 2012

3 — Informations générales

 Final event of a four-year project funded by the French Research Association (ANR) 2009-2013 in collaboration with Université Aix-Marseille, CEPERC (AMU, CNRS), IHPST (Paris 1/CNRS/ENS), SND (Paris 4/CNRS)

Gödel’s writings published during his lifetime show his dual interest in scientific questions and in fundamental philosophical questions. The posthumous publication of certain manuscripts and talks enables one better to understand this double interest in science and in philosophy. On the one hand, Gödel developed most of his scientific results in order to solve or clarify certain philosophical questions. On the other hand, his scientific work in the foundations of mathematics and in cosmology enriched his philosophical thought on, for example, the a priori classification of philosophical systems, and on the relations between the notions of concept and object.  Hence, not only did Gödel, as is well known, believe that philosophy might become an exact theory, provided that one does for metaphysics what Newton did for physics; he should moreover be aligned with Descartes, Leibniz, and other early modern philosophers who believed that science and philosophy are inseparable.

The conference will explore several features of Gödel’s philosophy that emerge from the unpublished manuscripts Max-Phil, which have been partly transcribed by the research group directed by Gabriella Crocco at CEPERC (Université Aix-Marseille).  The presentation of the complete transcriptions of Max-Phil IX-XV will be accompanied by an exploration of Gödel’s philosophy of logic, mathematics, and physics by international specialists and young Gödel scholars.

Invited speakers

• John Dawson (Pennsylvania State University, USA)
• Akihiro Kanamori (Boston University, USA)
• Eberhard Knobloch (Technische Universität Berlin, Germany)
• Massimo Mugnai (Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy)
• Göran Sundholm (Universiteit Leiden, Netherlands)  
• Richard Tieszen (California State University, San Jose, USA)

Program

The program of the Conference is now available here.  Every invited speaker will have a 75 minutes slot, including discussion. Every contributed speaker will have a 45 minutes time slot, including discussion. The official language of the Conference is English.

Registration

Registration is required in order to participate to the conference. Registration fees are 30 euros for participants with an academic position and 15 euros for others (independents scholars, PhD students, etc.). Registration fees will be paid on-site, before the beginning of the Conference. Payments can be made by cash, or French cheque (no foreign checks are accepted, unfortunately). Registered participants will have the possibility to attend the Conference and take part to coffee breaks. Lunches and dinners are not included in the registration fee. To register, please send, no later than June 30, an email to the following address : GoedelPhilosopher2013@gmail.com, including the expression “Registration” in the subject line of your message : goedelphilosopher2013 (at) gmail (dot) com, subject : Registration. Please specify your name and affiliation.

Collateral events

Friday July 12, 19h-20h

Librairie Goulard, 37 Cours Mirabeau, 13100 Aix-en-Provence

Book Signing featuring Yannick Grannec, author of the book La déesse des petites victoires, Editions Anne Carrière‬‪ 2012‬ (Prix des libraires 2013). German Translation by Gaby Wurster, Die Göttin der kleinen Siege, Lessingstrasse 6, 2013.‬

Princeton University, 1980. Anne Roth, young ambition-free librarian, is given the task of retrieving the archives of Kurt Godel, the most fascination and mysterious mathematician of the 20th century. Her mission consists in winning the trust of his widow, a notorious old shrew who seems to be satisfying her grudge against the Establishment by refusing to give away documents of an infinite scientific value. From their first meeting, Adele figures Anna out. But suprisingly, she doesn't push her away. Instead, she defines the rules of the game, and barters the archives in exchange for her story...

Venue and travel information

The Conference will be held in Aix-en-Provence, in the Faculty of Arts, Université Aix-Marseille : 29, avenue Robert Schuman, 13621 Aix-en-Provence (http://goo.gl/maps/OLmsN). The nearest airport is Marseille Provence (MRS). The nearest quick train station is  Aix-en-Provence Tgv, which is connected to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris (CDG) and by a shuttle bus to Aix-en-Provence City Centre. The city train station is Aix-en-Provence Centre Ville (Place Victor Hugo).

Accommodation

Please note that Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and the Provence area are the European Capital of Culture in 2013, so consider the opportunity of booking your accommodation as soon as possible. Should you find it difficult to find an hotel in Aix-en-Provence, please take into account that Marseille is connected to Aix-en-Provence by bus every 5 minutes (the journey lasts about 30-50 minutes, depending on the traffic) or by train. To find available accommodation and to book your hotel room online, please visit the Tourism Office website at http://en.aixenprovencetourism.com/aix-sejourner.htm http://www.marseille-tourisme.com/en/ Please find further information on youth hostels, budget hotels, bed and breakfast, etc. here.

Student Grants

A limited number of grants to cover accommodation and/or travel expenses will be available for students who want to attend the conference. To apply, send, no later than May 30th, an e-mail to goedelphilosopher2013@gmail.com containing:

• your CV (in particular your research topic, advisor, list of publications, etc.)
• 1-page statement about why you wish to attend the conference

The subject line of your message should include the expression : Grant Application.
The winners will be notified by e-mail by June 10th. We are looking forward to receiving your applications.

Scientific Committee

• John Dawson (Pennsylvania State University, USA)
• Akihiro Kanamori (Boston University, USA)
• Eberhard Knobloch (Technische Universität Berlin, Germany)
• Göran Sundholm (Universiteit Leiden, Netherlands)
• Richard Tieszen (California State University, San José, USA)
• Gabriella Crocco (CEPERC, Université Aix-Marseille)
• Pierre Kerszberg (IHPST, Université Paris 1 /CNRS)
• Mark Van Atten (SND, Université Paris 4 / CNRS)
• Eric Audureau  (CEPERC, Université Aix-Marseille / CNRS)
• Paola Cantù (CEPERC, Université Aix-Marseille /CNRS)
• Eva-Maria Engelen (CEPERC, Université Aix-Marseille  / Universität Konstanz, Germany).

Organizing Committee

• Gabriella Crocco (CEPERC, Université Aix-Marseille)
• Pierre Kerszberg (IHPST, Université Paris 1 / CNRS)
• Mark Van Atten (SND, Université Paris  4 / CNRS)
• Eric Audureau (CEPERC, Université Aix-Marseille / CNRS)
• Paola Cantù, (CEPERC, Université Aix-Marseille / CNRS)
• Eva-Maria Engelen (CEPERC, Université Aix-Marseille / Universität Konstanz, Germany).

Submissions

Submissions for individual contributions are invited on the interaction between science and philosophy in Gödel’s writings. Topical strands may include:

• Gödel’s remarks on philosophical systems
• the notions of concepts and objects
• the distinction between subjective and objective analysis of the real
• human will and God’s omnipotence
• the relations between Gödel’s theory of concepts and his scientific results
• time and matter
• evil and freedom
• Gödel’s conception of mathematics in its relation to philosophy

Potential contributors will have to submit a title, a short abstract (max. 200 words) and an extended abstract (1000 words), ready for blind refereeing. The abstracts should be sent to the following address: goedelphilosopher2013 (at) gmail (dot) com. The official language of the Conference is English.

Submission deadline : April 14, 2013 (notifications will be sent by mid-May 2013)

Contact

goedelphilosopher2013@gmail.com

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