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Tarski’s Revolution: A New History. Semantics and Axiomatics from Bolzano to Tarski against the background of the Classical Model of Science

Objective

This project aims at rewriting the history of Tarski’s revolution in semantics by taking into account the development of axiomatics from Bolzano to Tarski. Bolzano’s extraordinary work in semantics has been especially significant for the Polish tradition to which Tarski belongs, and Tarski’s ideas in turn changed the course of contemporary analytic philosophy. Tarski’s work represents a crucial turn in the history of semantics and related fields. The research project aims to establish that the turn at issue must be interpreted in connection with the development of axiomatics in Poland. In particular, the project proposes to interpret Tarski’s turn on the basis of a new framework, the Classical Model of Science, which systematises a general axiomatic ideal of scientific knowledge. The ideal goes back to Aristotle’s “Analytica Posteriora” and has been highly influential for more than two millennia. The interpretation proposed is radically new with respect to existing ones. It is also the only one to offer a convincing account of elements of both continuity and discontinuity in the historical tradition under investigation. The project divides into three subprojects: (I) 'Semantics and Axiomatics in Bolzano against the background of the Classical Model of Science'; (II) 'Semantics and Axiomatics in Tarski against the background of the Classical Model of Science'; (III) 'Semantics and Axiomatics from Bolzano to Tarski against the background of the Classical Model of Science'. The research will be carried out on the basis of original Polish and German sources by a team formed by myself (Project III) and two new members to be appointed, one at PhD level (Project I) and one at Postdoc level (Project II). The project will set a new course in the fragmented field of research on Tarski’s work and its roots and open new perspectives for neighbouring fields. It will also bring to the spotlight the Eastern European analytic tradition, still largely unexplored today.

Call for proposal

ERC-2007-StG
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Host institution

STICHTING VU
EU contribution
€ 897 472,00
Address
DE BOELELAAN 1105
1081 HV Amsterdam
Netherlands

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Region
West-Nederland Noord-Holland Groot-Amsterdam
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
A.W. Mulder (Mr.)
Principal investigator
Arianna Betti (Dr.)
Links
Total cost
No data

Beneficiaries (2)