Workshop: The Company You Keep – Infinity, Neo-Logicism, and Abstraction Principles
Guest Lecturer: Professor Paolo Mancosu, Department of Philosophy, University of California.
How do abstraction principles shape our understanding of numbers and infinity? What can Frege, Hume, and neo-logicism teach us about the foundations of mathematics?
The Institute of Advanced Studies is honored to host Professor Paolo Mancosu as part of the Lowy Distinguished Guest Professors program.
As part of this special LiP-Lab Workshop, Professor Mancosu will present "The Company You Keep: Infinity, Neo-Logicism, and Abstraction Principles". The workshop will explore Frege’s construction of the natural numbers, the role of Basic Law V and Hume’s Principle, and the developments in neo-logicism, including alternative approaches to infinite concepts and the challenges of implementing part-whole reasoning. Participants will engage with the central questions of identity, equivalence, and abstraction in mathematics, examining both historical and contemporary perspectives.
About the Speaker
PAOLO MANCOSU is the Willis S. and Marion Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a leading contemporary philosopher in the history and philosophy of mathematics and logic, combining technical expertise with a broad historical perspective. Prof. Mancosu has received numerous distinctions, including the Shoenfield Prize, the Blaise Pascal Chaire d’excellence internationale, the Prix Jean Cavaillès, the Humboldt Research Award, and the Guggenheim Fellowship.
Friday, 12 December 2025, 10:00
Where: Room 496, Gilman Building
Greetings: Dr. Ofra Rechter, Department of Philosophy
The workshop will be conducted in English and is open to the public.
Light refreshments will be served before the workshop.
