UConn Meaning Group

How did a philosopher of logic get involved in building an Asian American Center at a Public Research 1 University and in getting Asian American Philosophy within the American Philosophical Association? This lecture will tell this unlikely story through a docu-memoir of photos, film, music, and meetings with remarkable history makers. How can the critical lenses of Asian American history, culture, politics, and philosophy help us to imagine fresh possibilities and cultivate hope for the future for our nation?

Harvard University bestowed upon Kurt Gödel an honorary doctorate “for the discovery of the most significant mathematical truth of the century.” John von Neumann regarded him as the greatest “logician since Aristotle,” the only mathematician who was “absolutely irreplaceable.” His friend Einstein liked to say that eh went to the Institute of Advanced Studies “um das Privileg zu haben, mit Gödel zu Fuss nach Hause gehen zu dürfen.” This talk reports on progress made toward using animated logic puzzles, AI, and digital pedagogy to introduce a new generation to Gödel’s Theorems. 

Join Saxaphonist and historian Ben Barson as he talks with Center for Popular Music director Jeffrey Ogbar about his new book, “Brassroots Democracy,” which recasts the birth of jazz, unearthing vibrant narratives of New Orleans musicians to reveal how early jazz was inextricably tied to the mass mobilization of freedpeople during Reconstruction and the decades that followed.

https://www.benbarsonmusic.com 

Bio: Viorica Marian is a cognitive scientist at Northwestern University, where she is the Sundin Endowed Professor and Director of the Bilingualism Lab. She studies the relationship between language and mind, with a focus on the psycholinguistics of bilingualism and multilingualism. Dr. Marian received her PhD in Psychology from Cornell University and previously served as Chair of the National Institutes of Health Study Section on Language and Communication and as Chair of the Northwestern Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is the recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science John McGovern Award, The Psychonomic Society Mid-Career Award, the Clarence Simon Award for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring, and the Editor’s Award for best paper from JSLHR. Marian’s new popular science book “The Power of Language” is being translated into 12 languages and counting.

Talk Title: The Power of Language: How the Codes We Use to Think, Speak, and Live Transform Our Minds

Abstract: Bilingualism and multilingualism have profound consequences for individuals and societies. Learning multiple languages changes not only how we use language, but also how we perceive the world, what we remember, how we learn, our creativity, decision making, and identity. I will present eye-tracking, mouse-tracking, and neuroimaging evidence showing that multiple languages continuously interact in the mind. I will conclude with a call for placing the study of language-mind interaction and multilingualism among the core areas of scientific investigation if we are to gain an accurate understanding of humanity’s potential.

Meetings: If you are interested in meeting with Dr. Marian during the day or attending dinner in the evening on Friday, please email crystal.mills@uconn.edu.

The Social Epistemology Working Group (Also known as SEW or the SEWing Circle) investigates philosophical issues at the intersection of epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of technology and AI, and social and political philosophy. Activities include research presentations, reading groups, and external speakers.

Please register for this event in advance at:
https://tinyurl.com/2p825nz8

CARE 2024 UConn Fellows:

YaeYoung Min

Brooke Kvedar

Alyssa Brown

Aeryn Northway

A brown bag is a one hour, generally (though not exclusively) intra-departmental colloquium, starting with a twenty to twenty five minute talk by a faculty member or graduate student, filled from there to the end with lively questions and answers.

Join us in the Logic Colloquium!

Zeynep Soysal (Rochester):

The Metalinguistic Construal of Mathematical Propositions

In this talk I will defend the metalinguistic solution to the problem of mathematical omniscience for the possible-worlds account of propositions. The metalinguistic solution says that mathematical propositions are possible-worlds propositions about the relation between mathematical sentences and what these sentences express. This solution faces two types of problems. First, it is thought to yield a highly counterintuitive account of mathematical propositions. Second, it still ascribes too much mathematical knowledge if we assume the standard possible-worlds account of belief and knowledge on which these are closed under entailment. I will defend the metalinguistic construal of mathematical propositions against these two types of objections by drawing upon a conventionalist metasemantics for mathematics and an algorithmic model of belief, knowledge, and communication.

All welcome!

https://logic.uconn.edu/calendar/

The Social Epistemology Working Group (Also known as SEW or the SEWing Circle) investigates philosophical issues at the intersection of epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of technology and AI, and social and political philosophy. Activities include research presentations, reading groups, and external speakers.