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Carlo Cellucci is professor
of Logic at the Department of Philosophical and Epistemological Studies
of the University of Rome 'La Sapienza'.
His interests
lie in logic, philosophy of mathematics and epistemology.
For a long time
he has been working in mathematical logic. However, being unhappy with the status of
the subject, in the last decade he has
published two books, Le ragioni della logica [The Reasons of Logic] and Filosofia
e matematica [Philosophy and Mathematics] where he develops an alternative
to the mainstream in logic and in the philosophy of mathematics.
He has also
published a book, La filosofia della matematica del Novecento [Philosophy
of Mathematics in the Twentieth Century] where he critically analyzes the
limitations of the major positions in the philosophy of mathematics since
Frege.
Last year he has published a book, Perché
ancora la filosofia [Why Still Philosophy] where he develops a naturalistic
alternative to the mainstream in epistemology.
He is now writing a book, Remaking Logic. What Is Logic, Really?, where he develops a naturalistic approach to logic
(see 'Contents and Introduction' under
'Forthcoming').
In the spare
time he is also writing a book, Gödel's Theory, where he
intends to present most of the results of mathematical logic which are
relevant to the philosophy of mathematics.
carlo.cellucci@uniroma1.it
| "In
the manners and customs of the schools, universities, colleges and similar
institutions, which are intended to house scholars and cultivate learning,
everything is found to be inimical to the progress of the sciences. For the
readings and exercises are so designed that it would hardly occur to anyone to
think or consider anything out of the ordinary. And if perhaps someone should
have the courage to use his liberty of judgement, he would be taking the task
on himself alone; he will get no useful help from his colleagues. And if he
puts up with this too, he will find that in pursuing his career his industry
and largeness of view will be no small obstacle to him” (F. BACON, Novum
Organum, I,
Aphorism XC).
"Old
ideas give way slowly ... They are habits, predispositions, deeply
engrained attitudes of aversion and preference. Moreover, the
conviction persists ... that all the questions that the human mind has
asked are questions that can be answered in terms of the alternatives
that the questions themselves present. But in fact intellectual
progress usually occurs through sheer abandonment of questions together
with both of the alternatives they assume - an abandonment that results
from their decreasing vitality and a change of urgent interest. We do
not solve them: we get over them. Old questions are solved by
disappearing, evaporating, while new questions corresponding to the
changed attitude of endeavor and preference take their place” (J. DEWEY, The
Influence of Darwinism on
Philosophy).
"The
attitude of most of you
is that you are the philosophers,
that the students are
not,
... that they must
be trained to repeat the
tricks after you, so that
sometimes in the future
they may perhaps be able
to became trainers themselves,
modifying the tricks a little
here and there (this is
called 'original research'),
and being equally stern
in the propagation of their knowledge (this is called ‘professional conscience’).
I am sorry, but I see my
task in an entirely different
light” (P. FEYERABEND, Letter
to the Director of the Department
of Philosophy, 26 Jan 1969).
"I
don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve
immortality through not dying" (Woody
Allen).
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