Jean George Pierre Nicod (1 June 1893, in France – 16 February 1924, in Geneva, Switzerland) was a French philosopher and logician, best known for his work on propositional logic and induction.
Biography
[edit]Nicod's main contribution to formal logic was to show that classical propositional calculus could be axiomatized with only one axiom - which is now known as Nicod's axiom - and one rule of inference, both formulated using the Sheffer stroke as only connective. In inductive logic and confirmation theory, he famously proposed Nicod's criterion, according to which a conditional hypothesis is confirmed by all and only its positive instances.[1] This principle plays a central role in the derivation of Carl Hempel's raven paradox.
Nicod died at the age of 30 from tuberculosis.[2]
Legacy
[edit]The Institut Jean Nicod (Paris) — a branch of the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) -- is research laboratory at the interface between cognitive science and the social sciences — was named in honour of Nicod's memory. Jean Nicod's name is also commemorated by the prestigious Jean Nicod Lectures, which are delivered annually in Paris by a leading philosopher of mind or philosophically oriented cognitive scientist.[3] The lecturer is awarded the Jean Nicod Prize by the CNRS, which sponsors the lectures to develop the field of cognitive science in France.[3]
Main works
[edit]- 1917, "A Reduction in the Number of Primitive Propositions of Logic", Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc. 19: 32–41.
- 1921, "La géométrie des sensations de mouvement", Revue de métaphysique et de morale 28: 537–43.
- 1922, "Les tendances philosophiques de M. Bertrand Russell", Revue de métaphysique et de morale 29: 77–84.
- 1922, "Mathematical Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics" in Encyclopædia Britannica: The New Volumes, vol. 3, 12th ed. 874–76.
- 1923. La géométrie dans le monde sensible. Thèse, Univ. de Paris.
- 1923. Le problème logique de l'induction. Thèse complémentaire, Univ. de Paris.
- 1924. "Les relations des valeurs et les relations de sens en logique formelle", Revue de métaphysique et de morale 31: 467–80.
- 1924, "Freedom of Association and Trade Unionism: An Introductory Survey", International Labor Review 9: 467–80.
- 1930. Foundations of Geometry & Induction, Containing Geometry in a Sensible World and the Logical Problem of Induction, with prefaces by Bertrand Russell and André Lalande. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co.[4] Reprinted 2000, London: Routledge. Translated by Philip P. Wiener.
References
[edit]- ^ Dawes, Gregory W. (2012-09-10). Theism and Explanation. Routledge. ISBN 9781135841348.
- ^ Landini, Gregory (2011). Russell. Oxon: Routledge. pp. 345. ISBN 9780415396264.
- ^ a b Perry, John (2003). Knowledge, Possibility, and Consciousness. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. xi. ISBN 9780262661355.
- ^ Dresden, Arnold (1931). "Review: Foundations of Geometry and Induction by Jean Nicod". Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 37 (3): 152–153. doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1931-05111-9.
External links
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