Analogical Reasoning in Science and Mathematics (26 - 28 October 2018)
Idea and Motivation
Analogy is a powerful, yet controversial, tool of scientific reasoning. Indeed, many achievements in the history of science and mathematics have been driven by analogical inferences. Moreover, one can formulate conjectures about domains into which one does not have empirical access just based on analogy with other known domains. Nonetheless, from a logical point of view analogical inferences do not yield conclusions with certainty. So, what is it that justifies the use of analogy in science and mathematics? And how reliable is analogical reasoning? This conference will address such open philosophical problems.
Program
Day 1 (26 October 2018)
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 14:00 - 14:30 | Registration |
| 14:30 - 15:30 | Paul Bartha: "Finding a Home for Analogical Reasoning: Analogy and Models of Inductive Inference" |
| 15:30 - 16:15 | Antonella Foligno: "Models as Structures for Epistemic Representation" |
| 16:15 - 16:30 | Coffee Break |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Silvia De Bianchi: "The Many Roads to Analogical Arguments" |
| 17:30 - 18:15 | Deniz Sarikaya and Karl Heuer: "Analogical Results as Data for Theory Choice in Mathematical Research: The Case of Infinite Graph Theory" |
Day 2 (27 October 2018)
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 - 11:00 | Silvia Jonas: "Analogical Reasoning and Non-Empirical Domains" |
| 11:00 - 11:45 | Gavin Thomson: "Analogical Thinking and Applied Category Theory: An Inferentialist-Structuralist Approach" |
| 11:45 - 12:15 | Coffee Break |
| 12:15 - 13:15 | Mazviita Chirimuuta: "Your Brain is Like a Computer: Function, Analogy, Simplification" |
| 13:15 - 15:00 | Lunch |
| 15:00 - 15:45 | Wolfgang Pietsch: "A Causal Approach to Analogical Inference" |
| 15:45 - 16:45 | Jennifer Jhun: "Idealization in Analogical Reasoning" |
| 16:45 - 17:15 | Coffee Break |
| 17:15 - 18:00 | Christian J. Feldbacher-Escamilla and Alexander Gebharter: "Confirmation Based on Analogical Inference: Bayes meets Jeffrey" |
| 18:00 | Drinks |
| 19:30 | Conference Dinner |
Day 3 (28 October 2018)
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 - 11:00 | Benedikt Löwe: "What Makes Stories Similar?" Methodological Lessons Learned From an Empirical Research Project |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Coffee Break |
| 11:30 - 12:30 | Michele Ginammi: "Expecting the Rules of Chess to Reflect Those of the Solar System" |
Acknowledgement
The conference is organized by the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (LMU Munich). The conference is partly funded by support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, META at the Politecnico di Milano and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 709265
Photo Credits
Header background: Der_Canoniker, "Nautilus pompilius". Some right reserved (desaturated from original). Source: www.piqs.de.