Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS Pavia
Linguistics & Philosophy IUSS Center
IUSS Philosophy Seminars
eMath Project
Epistemology of Mathematics and Logic
“CASSIRER AND SOME RECENT DISCUSSIONS ON THE RELATIVIZED A PRIORI”
June 23rd 2021, 14.00
Speaker:
- Francesca Biagioli – University of Turin
Abstract:
The idea of a relativization of the Kantian a priori to the presuppositions for the possibility of scientific inquiries - first articulated by Cassirer and others in connection with the relativistic revolutions of physics in the early twentieth century - has been enjoying a revival in more recent philosophy of science. However, it is being questioned whether this view provides sufficient resources to account for scientific and conceptual change, given the fact that a priori elements of knowledge in the above sense can be determined exclusively from the standpoint of the latest theories. This paper aims to gain further insights on this discussion from a reconsideration of the dynamical aspect of Cassirer’s notion in some key examples from his epistemological works, where the focus is on how some structural procedures from nineteenth-century real analysis, analytic and projective geometry can find a fruitful expansion, as well as a variety of applications to nonmathematical domains. My suggestion is that Cassirer’s view differs significantly from more recent conceptions of the relativized a priori, but deserves closer attention especially by those who have an interest in an account of scientific change from within the historical standpoint.
Use the following link to attend:
https://iusspavia.zoom.us/j/99529506550
Info: andrea.sereni@iusspavia.it – luca.zanetti@iusspavia.it