[Bulletin No. -1]
This bulletin was published in Synthese Volume 23 No. 4 (1972) 497-506, DOI 10.1007/BF00636300.
COMMUNICATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL
UNION OF HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF
SCIENCE
DIVISION OF LOGIC,
METHODOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Executive Committee
-
President: Stephan Körner, The University, Bristol BS8 IRJ, England.
- Vice-President: A. Markov, Academy of Science, Computing Center, str. Vavilova 40, Moscow, U.S.S.R.
- Secretary:
- Part of 1969: A. R. Anderson, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213;
- 1969-1971 : Nicholas Rescher, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213.
- Treasurer: J. F. Staal, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720.
Assessors:
M. Bunge, A. Grzegorczyk, K. J. J. Hintikka, M. O. Rabin.
Former Presidents:
- S. C. Kleene, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706;
- G.H. von Wright, Laivurinkatu 4, 00150 Helsinki 15, Finland;
- Yehoshua Bar-Hillel, The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 43, Jabotinsky Road, P. O. Box 4040, Jerusalem, Israel.
The Executive Committee of the division is composed of the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. The Council consists of the Executive Committee plus the Assessors.
Romanian Organizing Committee: A. Joja, G. Moisil, C. Popovici (General Secretary).
Program Committee: P. Suppes (Chairman).
Chairmen of Sections:
- Mathematical Logic — A. Mostowski;
- Foundations of Mathematical Theories — A. A. Markov;
- Automata and Programming Languages — M. Rabin;
- Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics — G. Kreisel;
- General Problems of Methodology and Philosophy of Science — W. Stegmüller;
- Foundations of Probability and Induction — K. J. J. Hintikka;
- Methodology and Philosophy of Physical Sciences — A. Grünbaum;
- Methodology and Philosophy of Biological Sciences — M. O. Beckner;
- Methodology and Philosophy of Psychological Sciences — A. N. Leontiev;
- Methodology and Philosophy of Historical and Social Sciences — P. Lazarsfeld;
- Methodology and Philosophy of Linguistics — S. Marcus;
- History of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science — M. Hesse.
The meeting was called to order by the President, Professor S. Körner, at
4:10 PM in the aula of the School of Law of the University of Bucharest.
(1) Verification of Delegates
The President asked the Secretary to proceed with the usual verification of delegates. The following delegates were present. (The category of each national member is indicated in parentheses.)
National Members
- Austria (A): P. Weingartner
- Bulgaria (A): A. Polikarov
- Canada (B): R. Klibansky, T. Settle
- Czechoslovakia (A): K. Berka
- Finland (A): K. J. J. Hintikka
- France (D): Jean-Louis Destouches, P. Février, M. P. Schutzenberger
- Germany (DBR) (D): F. Kutschera, J. Diller, H. Hermes, A. Oberschelp
- Germany (DDR) (]3): G. Krober, G. Klimazewski
- Great Britain (]3): M. Hesse, H. Post, A. Lyon, I. Hacking
- Hungary (A): L. Kalmár, G. Markus
- Israel (A): Y. Bar-Hillel
- Japan (C): S. Omori, H. Takeda, H. Kurosahi
- Netherlands (C): A. Lindenmayer, D. van Dalen
- Norway (A): Dag Prawitz
- Poland (B): J. Kotarbinska, A. Mostowski
- Romania (A): G. Moisil
- U.S.A. (E): H. Putnam, P. Achinstein, M. Morley, E. McMuilin, P. Suppes
- U.S.S.R. (D): B. M. Kedrov, A. A. Markov, V. N. Sadorsky, V. A. Smirnov
- Yugoslavia (A): M. Markovic
Members not represented:
Argentina (A), Belgium (A), Chile (A), China (A), Denmark (A), Greece (A), Italy (A), Monaco (A), Spain (A), Sweden (B), Switzerland (A).
International Members
- Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences: not represented
- Association for Symbolic Logic: D. Scott, J. R. Shoenfield, A. R. Anderson,
J. van Heijenoort, A. Tarski, Yu. L. Ersov, J.-E. Fenstad, J. Derrick,
H. Rasiowa
- Institute for the Unity of Science: not represented
- International Society for Significs: not represented
- The Philosophy of Science Association: C. G. Hempel, A. Grünbaum, D. Shapere
(2) Admission of New Members
On behalf of the Executive Committee the Secretary moved the admission of two new national members, Australia in category B and Turkey in category A, as well as one new international member, the Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science with one vote. The motion carried unanimously. It was also announced that the Executive Committee has acted on the authorization by the previous General Assembly (Amsterdam, 1967) to remove the provisionality qualification from the membership of the Philosophy of Science Association.
(3) Termination of Deficient Members
Two proposals were offered by the Executive Committee: (a) That the membership of Argentina be terminated on grounds of deficiency in payment (there being a 9-year delinquency), and (b)
that the membership of Greece be terminated partly on grounds of deficiency of scientific activity by the national committee in which Greek membership is vested, partly on grounds of deficiencies in payment.
With reference to Argentina, Professor G. C. Moisil moved "That the General Assembly instruct the Executive Committee to take measures with Argentina with reference to its back dues so that it not be excluded in accord with the statutes of the Division, an exclusion otherwise to take place after one year." This motion carried unanimously.
With reference to Greece the Bulgarian delegate moved an identical resolution. After some discussion Professor H. Putnam moved to table this motion, and his motion carried. The President observed that the Executive Committee would seek to encourage regularizing the participation of Greece in the work of the Division.
It was noted with regret that two further members, Spain and Chile, are seriously deficient in their participation in the obligations and activities of the Division.
(4) Reclassification of Members
The President noted that ICSU had urged its organs to encourage nations to participate at a level commensurate with their fullest capabilities. In this connection it was welcomed that Britain had requested reclassification from category B to category D, a request in which the Executive Committee acceded with pleasure. Other nations were urged to follow Britain's example in upgrading their categorization of membership.
(5) Minutes of the Last General Assembly
The Secretary observed that the minutes of the last General Assembly (Amsterdam, 1967) had been printed in Synthese 18 (1968), pp. 121-129. The approval of these minutes as printed was moved, recorded, and passed.
(6) President's Report
The President expressed his thanks to his predecessor, Professor Y. Bar-Hillel, for his help smoothing the transition of his own succession to the office. The President mentioned three matters that had received special attention on the part of the officers during his administration: active sponsorship of scholarly meetings, closer collaboration with our sister division of the History of Science, and more effective cooperation with international philosophical organizations, especially FISP (the International Federation of Philosophical Societies). These matters will be dealt with in greater detail by his colleagues on the Executive Committee. He concluded by thanking his colleagues on that committee for the cordial and effective cooperation he had received from them throughout his term of office.
(7) Secretary's Report
The Secretary first reported on the scholarly activities of the Division. Since 1967 fifteen symposia and colloquia had been sponsored by the organization: during 1968 in Salzburg, Warsaw, Åbo and Paris, during 1969 in Manchester and Helsinki, during 1970 in London, Oslo, Santiago and Jerusalem, and during 1971 in New York, Montreal, Berkeley, Cambridge and Copenhagen. (For details see Appendix B). In the area of publication, the Division has continued its annual subvention to the Journal of Symbolic Logic. Moreover, plans were well matured for publishing the proceedings of the present Congress.
The Secretary next reported on the progress of measures for closer cooperation with other philosophical organizations of international scope, in particular, the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP) and the International Institute of Philosophy (IIP). The former (FISP) — the sponsor of the great quinquennial international congresses — being the philosophical counterpart on the humanistic side of this Union in being linked to UNESCO through ICPHS instead of through the scientific branch ICSU, as is the case with us. The latter (IIP) is an association of individuals, an international academy of eminent philosophers from many nations and sponsors annual colloquia, publications, etc. In negotiations between officers of the Division and those of these organizations in Helsinki during August 1970 (specifically including A. Mercier the Secretary General of FISP and A. J. Ayer the President of IIP) four points were agreed upon: (1) Regular mutual exchange of information between the Secretaries of these organizations, (2) Invitations to send observers to business meetings, (3) Periodic meetings of officers, (4) the exploration of the establishment of joint committees and commissions. In implementation of this last point an ad hoc committee had been established consisting of G. H. von Wright of Finland for the Division and A. Mercier of Switzerland for FISP with a view to assisting emigré philosophers in finding employment.
The Secretary further mentioned the plan inaugurated by FISP for the holding of a World Philosophical Year in 1978. He described the plans for this occasion and stated that negotiations with UNESCO for their realization were currently underway.
Finally, the Secretary discussed plans for the scholarly activities of the Division. There is a prospect of international colloquia in the philosophy of science in Brussels in 1972 and in Salzburg in 1972 or 1973. Moreover, the Division is actively collaborating with its sister division in the History of Science for joint future activities. A working group under the leadership of Professor Mary Hesse had been appointed and was then called upon and made the following report.
Members of the Commission:
- Appointed by Division of H. S.: J. Murdoch (Chairman), C. de Beauregard,
V. Sadovsky
- Appointed by Division of LMPS: M. Hesse (Vice-chairman), A. Joja,
E. McMullin, J. Watkins
The commission had held meetings with other interested participants at the Moscow Congress of History of Science and at the Bucharest Congress of LMPS.
The principal business had been preliminary planning of a colloquium of about 30 participants to be held in 1973, at which specific problems requiring the disciplines of history and of philosophy of science would be studied. Five ways in which the disciplines relate to each other were distinguished:
- Issues in philosophy of science requiring study of historical cases.
- Philosophical insight into implicit methodology required by historians of science.
- Use of contemporary philosophical analysis to study philosophical concepts in the history of science.
- History of philosophy of science.
- Philosophy of history and of science presupposed in the historiography of science.
The commission proposed to hold in 1972 a planning meeting to determine place, time, issues and persons for the colloquium, and requested support and a subvention for this meeting, and also several support for their plans to date. Such support had already been given by the General Assembly of the Division of H.S.
The presentation of this report was followed by expressions of approval of these steps to cooperate with our sister division.
(8) Treasurer's Report
The Treasurer reported on the financial affairs of the Division as of 31 December 1970. This report is given as Appendix A of these minutes. His report was accepted unopposed by a show of hands.
(9) Determination of the Unit of Dues
The President quoted a letter from ICSU urging its members to reassess their finances in the light of recent reflationary developments and to strive for a firmer financial footing. On behalf of a unanimous Council he moved the increase of the unit of dues from $50 to $60 and a proportionate increase in the assessment of international members. Professor Y. Bar-Hillel stated that this increase was altogether inadequate. He proposed an increase to $100. After considerable discussion this second proposal was voted down and the Council's original proposal was accepted unanimously. Professor L. Kalmár urged the Executive Committee to send a letter of notification to the official governmental groups.
(10) Improving the Division's Finances
On behalf of the Executive Committee the President proposed the appointment of an ad hoc committee to explore the possibilities of securing funding for the work of the Division outside the usual framework. It was proposed that this committee consist of the Treasurer ex officio and Professor Patrick Suppes, and he be authorized to coopt one or two further members. A motion to this effect was adopted unanimously.
(11) Delegation of Budgeting Powers to the Executive Committee
The usual
motion authorizing the Executive Committee to make budgeting determinations in the interval until the next General Assembly was introduced and unanimously passed.
(12) Elections of Officers and Assessors
The next item was the election of officers to serve until the convening of the next General Assembly. On behalf of the Council, the President proposed as his successor to the presidency Professor Andrzej Mostowski who was elected by acclamation. Also on behalf of the Council the President proposed that the Secretary and Treasurer be continued in office for another term and this proposal was also approved by acclamation. For the Vice-Presidency two names were offered in nomination by the Council, Professors K. J. J. Hintikka and H. Törnebohm. The name of Professor G. C. Moisil was added by nomination from the floor. Balloting produced the result that Professor Hintikka was elected with Professor Moisil to serve as alternate. For the four Assessor positions eight names were nominated: Professors L. J. Cohen, A. Grünbaum, M. Hesse, A. Joja, M. V. Popovic, H. Rasiowa, D. Scott, W. Stegmüller, and H. Takeda. Ballots were distributed and Professors A. Grzegorczyk and M. Bunge were appointed as tellers. As a result of the ballot, the President announced that Professors Hesse, Popovic, Stegmüller, and Takeda had been elected as the four assessors with D. Scott and A. Grünbaum as successive alternates. (Further alternative alternates: H. Rasiowa, L. J. Cohen.)
(14) Next General Assembly and International Congress
The President observed that the time and place of the next meeting were both open issues, and that invitations were forthcoming from Austria (Salzburg) and Canada (London, Ontario). He called upon Professor P. Weingartner to present the Austrian and Professor R. Butts the Canadian invitations. The assembly then voted to hold the meeting in 1975 (to avoid conflicting with the History of Science Division's meeting in Tokyo in 1974). As to the place, a straw vote showed a preference for Austria (Salzburg), but a motion was unanimously adopted authorizing the Executive Committee to make a final decision after undertaking some further inquiries.
(15) Motions of Thanks
Professor P. Achinstein moved a vote of thanks to both inviting members, Austria and Canada, for their proferred hospitality. The motion was adopted by acclamation. Professor H. Putnam moved a vote of thanks to the Romanian Local Organizing Committee (A. Joja, G. C. Moisil, C.
Popovic), the Program Committee (P. Suppes, Chairman and A. Mostowski,
A.A.
Markov, M. Rabin, G. Kreisel, W. Stegmüller, K. J. J. Hintikka,
A.
Grünbaum, M. O. Beckner, A. N. Leontiev, P. Lazarsfeld, S. Marcus,
M.
Hesse as Section Chairmen), as well as to the past officers of the Division for their organizational labors in relation to the Congress and the related work of the Division. This sentiment was supported in a most cordial address by Professor B. M. Kedrov and the motion of thanks was adopted by acclamation.
(16) Other Business
The President indicated that several items of further business required the attention of the General Assembly.
- At the urging of Professor Markov, the Executive Committee proposed an increase in the number of Assessors. After some discussion a motion was formulated "To increase the number of Assessors by two (from 4 to 6) and to authorize the Executive Committee to implement this decision in due course." This motion was carried by a margin well over the 2/3 majority required by a change in the statutory arrangements.
- Similarly, an increase in the number of Vice Presidents from one to two was proposed (with a first VP to have priority in the succession). A motion approving this step and authorizing its implementation by the Executive Committee was again passed by a majority exceeding the required.
- A change in Articles 8 and 11 of the Statutes (changing "trois ans" to "trois ou quatre ans") so as to provide the legal basis for a four-year term for all officers in case a four year period elapses between successive General Assemblies was moved and adopted unanimously.
- A motion was offered and passed unanimously "That the Excutive Committee continue its pursuit of closer contracts with other philosophical organizations of international scope (in particular FISP and IIP) and that it encourage arrangements for a World Philosophical Year, 1978 through both administrative and financial support."
- Professor T. Settle's motion that an ad hoc study group be formed to explore the feasibility of an ad hoc committee "to appraise the feasibility of establishing an International Center for Studies in the Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science" was adopted with the proviso that the constituting of this committee be left in the hands of the Executive Committee.
The meeting was adjourned by the President at 6:50 PM.
[Financial Appendix A to be added]
APPENDIX B
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES
Past Meetings
Meeting Subvention ($)
- Tihany, Hungary 1967: Colloquium on Recursive Functions $1,000 and their Applications. Organizer: L. KALMAR
- Salzburg, 1968: Salzburg Colloquium in Philosophy of Science. 900 Organizers: P. WEINGARTNER et al.
- Warsaw, 1968: Symposium on Foundations of Mathematics. 30 Organizer: A. MOSTOWSKI
- Åbo, 1968: First Scandinavian Symposium of Logic. 700 Organizers: STIG KANGER et al.
- Paris, 1968: Colloquium on History and Philosophy of Science 713 Organizer: J. DESTOUCHES + 307 for publication
- Manchester, 1969: Logic Colloquium and Summer School 2,000
Organizer: R. O. GANOY
- Helsinki, 1969: International Colloquium on Modal Logic. 400 Organizers: G. H. VON WRIGHT et al.
- Jerusalem, 1970: International Working Symposium on 2,000 Pragmatics of Natural Languages. Organizer: Y. BAR-HILLEL
- London, 1970: Conference in Mathematical Logic. 1,000 Organizer: WILFRID HODGES
- Oslo, 1970: Second Scandinavian Logic Symposium. 800 Organizers: J.-E. FENSTAD et al.,
- Santiago (Chile), 1970: Latin American Colloquium of Mathematical 750 Logic. Organizers: R. CHUAQUI, A. ROBINSON
- New York, 1971 : Conference on Islamic Philosophy and Science. 500 Organizer: P. MOREWEDGE
- Berkeley, 1971 : Symposium in Honor of Alfred Tarski on the 500 Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Organizers: R. VAOGHT, LEON HENKIN et al.
- Cambridge, 1971 : Cambridge Summer School in Mathematical Logic 2,000 Organizers: R. O. GANDY et al.
- Copenhagen, 1971 : Bertrand Russell Memorial Logic Conference 100 Organizer: A. M. COLE
- Montreal, 1971 : Symposium on Exact Philosophy 1,500 Organizer: M. BUNGE
Future Meetings
- Salzburg, 1972 (9.): Salzburg Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science Organizer: P. WEINGARTNER
- Brussels, 1972: International Conference of rAcademie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences Organizer: S. Dockx