Talk (Work in Progress): Luis Bartolo (MCMP)

Title:

Topic Neutrality: A Logical Reconstruction

Abstract:

The concept of topic-neutrality, though central tocontemporary characterisations of logic, lacks a standard formal definition. Ipropose a formal reconstruction of this concept in terms of a topical partition of atoms and itsapplicability across consequence relations. I explore the implications of thisreconstruction for logical pluralism and monism, distinguishing betweentopic-neutral and topic-specific variants of each. I argue that whiletopic-neutral pluralism posits various applicable consequence relations acrossdomains, topic-specific pluralism holds that some relations are only applicableto specific domains. Conversely, topic-neutral monism asserts a single correctrelation universally applicable, while topic-specific monism suggests a singlerelation applicable solely to a specific domain. I conclude assessing under which conditions itwould be possible (or not) to maintain these philosophical views.