What are the Formal Sciences?
A “formal science” is an area of study that uses formal systems to generate knowledge. Mathematics is the prototypical example. Others include logic, statistics, information theory, and theoretical computer science. Although it has sometimes been questioned whether or not these are truly “science” – considering the lack of real-world experiments – these disciplines often get lumped along into science anyway. Despite their lack of an empirical basis, the formal sciences are generally considered extremely important, and indeed, all of quantitative science depends on them. It is an ongoing debate as to whether or not the formal sciences are true science. Mathematics texts emerge in ancient history around 1800 BC, in Mesopotamia, the location of Babylon, the largest city on Earth at the time. The original purpose was to quantify goods, such as slaves or grain. Around 600 BC in China and in Greece in 400 BC was the initial development of logic, the explicit analysis of reasoning methods. In
How do they differ from the Natural Sciences and the Arts? How have they been perceived through history? The audience of FotFS IV will be mainly philosophers and historians of mathematics and science, and their goal will be to develop both synchronous and diachronous descriptions and classifications of the concept of the Formal Sciences from antiquity to the 21st century. Invited Speakers include Kevin de Laplante (Ames IA), Ivor Grattan-Guinness (London), Jens Hoyrup (Roskilde), Christoph Kann (Duesseldorf), Susanne Prediger (Bremen), Guenter Schenk (Halle), Christian Thiel (Erlangen), and Joanne Twining (Denver CO). We would like to invite all researchers to present their thoughts on (*) the problem of classifying or defining the Formal Sciences, (*) the historical development of the Formal Sciences, or (*) the relationship of the Formal Sciences to the Natural Sciences and the Arts throughout history or at a particular point in history at our conference. There will be a refereed pro
* Can we develop a theoretical classification of the sciences that juxtaposes the formal sciences to the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities? Can we do this solely by identifying common methodological features? * Can we identify changes of the notion of formal sciences over time? How were the areas that we now conceived as the “Foundations of the Formal Sciences” classified throughout history? Investigating the “History of the Concept of the Formal Sciences” to find answers to an array of questions with this wide scope, you need an enthusiastic group of researchers interested in going beyond the traditional boundaries of their subjects covering at once the philosophical, historical and logical issues at hand, like the authors of this volume. The papers in this volume stand witness to our success in touching the mentioned questions. It will be of interest to philosophers, sociologists, historians, and logicians, and covers many aspects of the history of the formal sciences
• Can we develop a theoretical classification of the sciences that juxtaposes the formal sciences to the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities? Can we do this solely by identifying common methodological features? • Can we identify changes of the notion of formal sciences over time? • How were the areas that we now conceive as the “Foundations of the Formal Sciences” classified throughout history? Investigating the “History of the Concept of the Formal Sciences” to find answers to an array of questions with this wide scope, you need an enthusiastic group of researchers interested in going beyond the traditional boundaries of their subjects covering at once the philosophical, historical, and logical issues at hand, like the authors of this volume. The papers in this volume stand witness to our success in touching the mentioned questions. It will be of interest to philosophers, sociologists, historians, and logicians, and covers many aspects of the history of the formal scienc
