Project name: Proof and understanding in mathematics

Project acronym: PUMa

Principal Investigator: Prof. Andrea Sereni - https://www.iusspavia.it/it/rubrica/andrea-sereni 

CUP: I53D23004060006

Description: The national project aims to explore the connections between the notion of proof in logic and mathematics and the notion of explanation. The project begins with the observation that the formal tools provided by proof theory in the analysis of logical-mathematical proofs alone are insufficient to provide an adequate theoretical account of the generation of understanding, the criteria for comparison and choice between proofs and alternative formal theories, or the capacity that only some proofs appear to have to provide adequate explanations. Also starting from the so-called 24th Hilbert problem, and therefore from the consideration of the notion of simplicity as a key element in the comparison of formal proofs, the project aims at a multidisciplinary investigation into the adequate understanding of the notion of proof from a logical, mathematical, semantic, epistemological, and linguistic perspective.

Funding Institution: MUR - Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca

Project starting date: 05/10/2023

Project end date: 28/02/2026