Visual Information and Valid Reasoning

Author:

Barwise Jon,Etchemendy John

Abstract

Psychologists have long been interested in the relationship between visualization and the mechanisms of human reasoning. Mathematicians have been aware of the value of diagrams and other visual tools both for teaching and as heuristics for mathematical discovery. As the chapters in this volume show, such tools are gaining even greater value, thanks in large part to the graphical potential of modern computers. But despite the obvious importance of visual images in human cognitive activities, visual representation remains a second-class citizen in both the theory and practice of mathematics. In particular, we are all taught to look askance at proofs that make crucial use of diagrams, graphs, or other nonlinguistic forms of representation, and we pass on this disdain to our students. In this chapter, we claim that visual forms of representation can be important, not just as heuristic and pedagogic tools, but as legitimate elements of mathematical proofs. As logicians, we recognize that this is a heretical claim, running counter to centuries of logical and mathematical tradition. This tradition finds its roots in the use of diagrams in geometry. The modern attitude is that diagrams are at best a heuristic in aid of finding a real, formal proof of a theorem of geometry, and at worst a breeding ground for fallacious inferences. For example, in a recent article, the logician Neil Tennant endorses this standard view: . . . [The diagram] is only an heuristic to prompt certain trains of inference; . . . it is dispensable as a proof-theoretic device; indeed, . . . it has no proper place in the proof as such. For the proof is a syntactic object consisting only of sentences arranged in a finite and inspectable array (Tennant [1984]). . . . It is this dogma that we want to challenge. We are by no means the first to question, directly or indirectly, the logocentricity of mathematics arid logic. The mathematicians Euler and Venn are well known for their development of diagrammatic tools for solving mathematical problems, and the logician C. S. Peirce developed an extensive diagrammatic calculus, which he intended as a general reasoning tool.

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Cited by 8 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. The Notion of Diagrammatic Isomorphism in Venn-Peirce Diagrams;Diagrammatic Representation and Inference;2022

2. Toward an Integrated History and Philosophy of Diagrammatic Practices;East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal;2020-06-01

3. Iconic virtues of diagrams;Signata;2019-06-30

4. Philosophy of Mathematical Practice — Motivations, Themes and Prospects†;Philosophia Mathematica;2019-02-01

5. The Epistemological Import of Euclidean Diagrams (in a non-Euclidean world);Kairos. Journal of Philosophy & Science;2016-10-01

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3