- What are the roles of pictures and diagrams in mathematical proofs, in formal reasoning, and in epistemic justification more broadly?
- Can pictures by themselves serve as rigorous argumentation insofar as they can be persuasive and even convey a sense of demonstrative certainty?
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| from Allan Marquand, “A Machine for Producing Syllogistic Variations” —In C. S. Peirce (ed.),Studies in Logic by Members of the John Hopkins University, 12–15. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1883. |
For the most part, these questions have been discussed separately. We want to bring them together and take them in new directions. These are philosophical questions that are addressed by many different disciplines: STS, history of science, mathematics, engineering, media studies, and the visual arts. They draw attention to technologies of picturing, the contexts of practice in which proofs and procedures of formal reasoning are employed, and problems and methods of teaching and communication.
We invite submissions on any aspect of the relation between pictures and proofs, and especially in these three thematic areas:
- The role of pictures in logical or mathematical reasoning: What is the role of diagrams as objects of reasoning or as parts of the language of reasoning?
- Compelling imagery and the power of visual evidence: Do pictures afford evidence and certainty such that they can serve as proofs?
- Handling proofs and putting them to work: How have mechanical models, graphic procedures, visual and haptic manipulation contributed to mathematical reasoning in a wide variety of disciplines and applications?
