Reading Lewis Carroll's Logic
Amirouche Moktefi
Tallinn University of Technology
Abstract:
Modern logic resulted from a process of mathematization that deeply changed the field. After being a (more or less) important discipline of philosophy, it became a (not so) important discipline of mathematics. This path is well known and the logicians who contributed to it are commonly celebrated. However, it is problematic to look at the logics of the past as mere steps towards this modernity and beyond. Indeed, this encourages cherry-picking modern features rather than understanding these logics' own purposes. In this talk, I will consider the case of Lewis Carroll’s treatise on symbolic logic, published in 1896. It contains an interesting system of logic, uses symbols and diagrams, and introduces modern techniques to solve elimination problems. However, it takes a conservative view on the question of existential import. What does that teach us on the shaping of modern logic?