The aim of this workshop is to investigate the relations between logic, language and computation formalisms and to revisit them in a multi-cultural perspective. In this year which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of the mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist Alan Turing, the scientific and cultural endeavor starting with modern logic at the end of the 19th century, continuing with the development of mathematical formalisms of computation and then actual computers in the mid-20th century, and culminating with the digital revolution of the last two decades is now well-known on both the historical and conceptual sides. This story however is rooted in the Western history of ideas and seemingly intertwined with it. But how is all this dependent or independent of its cultural background? Can we look at some other traditions, in particular in Asia, which would have venture in other directions?
Language is indeed a key notion to consider in the development of mechanical computations, as nowadays computers are not mere number crunchers but first and foremost language-based machines, from the core use of programming languages to the development of the worldwide web. But there is a large variety of languages, spoken, written, and mechanized; and their different characteristics and interplays with cultural issues are rich and complex. Investigating cultural aspects in the development of logic, language and computation could bring new hindsight not only about these core domains, but more generally about the grounds on which our current societies are based.
PROGRAM
Friday October 19th, Maison Franco Japonaise (Ebisu), room 601 :
Logic, Mathematics and Computation
10:00 Registration
10:15 Opening Remarks by P. Codognet, CNRS/University of Tokyo, and M. Okada, Keio University
10:30-12:30 History & Ethnology of Mathematics
- Prof. Hideyuki Majima, Ochanomizu University: "Seki Takakazu, his life and bibliography"
- Prof. Marc Chemillier, EHESS (Paris): "Recent developments in ethno-mathematics"
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30- 16:00 Logic and Computation
- Prof. Masahiko Sato, Kyoto University: "Bootstrapping Mathematics - Interplay between logic and computation"
- Prof. Pierre Wagner, University Paris-1: "Computation, logic and language"
- Prof. Mitsu Okada, Keio University: "Philosophy of logic, mathematics and computation in the early 20th century"
16:00-16:30 Coffee Break
16:30-18:00 Logic and Language
- Prof. Koji Mineshima, Keio University: "Formal logical semantics and pragmatics issues on Japanese natural language"
- Prof. Isabelle Tellier, University Paris-3: "A linguistic look on programming languages"
18:00 end of the workshop
Saturday October 20th, Keio University (Mita Campus), East Building 6F G-sec lab
Comparative Perspectives
10:00 Registration
10:15 Opening Remarks by P. Codognet, CNRS/University of Tokyo, and M. Okada, Keio University
10:30-13:00 Anthropology
- Prof. Clarisse Herrenschmidt, CNRS (Paris): written signs and desymbolization"
- Prof. Keizo Miyasaka, Keio University: TBA
- Prof. Junji Kawaguchi, Keio University: "Contrastive linguistic study on vocabularies and structures between French and Japanese "
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch Break
14:00 - 15:30 Writing, Logic and Rationality
- Prof. Jean Lassegue, CNRS (Paris): "Alphabet as a potentially mechanical writing system: some clues from remote and recent history"
- Prof. Shigeru Watanabe, Keio University: "Rationality in animals"
15:30-16:00 Coffee Break
16:00-18:00 Relations between Text and Image
- Prof. Claire-Akiko Brisset, University Paris 7: "Writing and Language: the case of Japanese"
- Prof. Toru Ishikawa, Keio University: " The image-text combination of the Nara e-hon of the Edo era"