Date: 12 October 2018 (19:00-21:00, Friday)
Venue: The Coffee Bar at School of Humanities, Xixi Campus, Zhejiang University (人文学院咖啡吧)
Speaker: Prof. Johan van Benthem (University of Amsterdam, Stanford University & Tsinghua University)
Title: Science and Common Sense

Abstract:
Scientific rationality is sometimes contrasted with vague or confused common sense thinking. But charting the logic of our common sense reasoning reveals a rich structure that shows many analogies with how science functions. Science is a continuation, not a replacement, of common sense, and seeing this continuity also highlights basic social features of the scientific process that are often overlooked. We conclude by raising some questions about what all this means for how science is normally presented to society in the public media.

References:
– E. Nagel, 1961, “The Structure of Science”, Harcourt, Brace and World.
– J. van Benthem, 2011, “Logical Dynamics of Information and Interaction”, Cambridge University Press.

Profile:
– University Professor, emeritus, University of Amsterdam. Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor, Stanford University (philosophy, CSLI). Jin Yuelin Professor, Tsinghua University Beijing (philosophy) and co-director, UvA-Tsinghua Joint Research Center in logic.
– Founding director, Institute for Logic, Language & Computation ILLC, Amsterdam. First chair and honorary member, European Association for Logic, Language and Information FoLLI. Recipient Dutch national Spinoza Award, project Logic in Action. Member, Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences KNAW, Academia Europaea AE, Institut International de Philosophie IIP, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences AAAS.

Photos:

*本活动由浙江大学人文学部主办、浙江大学语言与认知研究中心承办.