Projet ANR JCJC, "Intuitions Bolzaniennes"

Description
Probably one of the most under-appreciated thinkers of the XIXth century is Bernard Bolzano who during his pious life elaborated milestone mathematical results as well as pioneering and fundamental philosophical concepts. Amongst the latter, following Aristotle, Bolzano attempted to analyze the idea of Abfolge, or grounding, a notion that nowadays, after decades of neglect, is at the centre of a great philosophical debate. Bolzano's work on the concept of grounding is uncompleted but rich in brilliant insights. The goal of this project is to develop a neo-Bolzanian theory of grounding using contemporary formal and conceptual tools. The development of such a theory seems to be an interesting and valuable line of research from at least two different perspectives. First of all, from a conceptual perspective, because we firmly believe that the Bolzanian conception still has much to teach us and is likely to shed new light on some open questions in contemporary metaphysical debate. Secondly, from a historical perspective, because in developing a neo-Bolzanian approach to grounding, we will give new life to Bolzano and his philosophical contributions.