European Review of Philosophy: Volume 4: The Nature of Logic

by Achille C. Varzi (Editor)

What is logic? What makes it a subject in its own right, separate from (and in the background of) the concerns of other disciplines? What is the distinctive character of a logical term or operation? The wealth of technical developments in all areas of logic in recent years has not diminished the need of serious philosophical reflection on the nature of logic, and indeed there is a growing gap between the logician's work and the philosopher's urge to understand the scope of that work. The aim of this collection is to offer material toward filling that gap. Some of the essays have a programmatic flavour; others put forward articulated views; others still concern themselves with the link between technical aspects and philosophical issues. But all share a common concern for the heart of the problem and stem from a common desire to clarify the nature of the logician's enterprise.

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Achille C. Varzi is an Italian-born philosopher. He teaches at Columbia University, where he has been a member of the philosophy faculty since 1995.

Varzi has made notable contributions to the fields of philosophical logic (mainly vagueness, supervaluationism, paraconsistency, formal semantics) and metaphysics (mainly mereology and mereotopology, causation, events, and issues relating to identity and persistence through time). His first book, Holes and Other Superficialities (1994, with Roberto Casati), was an exploration of the realist ontology of common sense and naive physics. His more recent work is inspired by a nominalist-conventionalist stance.

Varzi is currently an editor of The Journal of Philosophy and an advisory editor of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Varzi is also a prolific writer for the general public and contributes regularly to several Italian newspapers.

Achille C. Varzi is a second cousin of the Italian racecar driver Achille Varzi.