On Logic and the Theory of Science

On Logic and the Theory of Science Jean Cavaillès Translated by Knox Peden and Robin MackayPreface by Gaston Bachelard Introductory notice by Georges Canguilhem and Charles Ehresmann Introduction by Knox Peden March 2021Urbanomic/Sequencewith support from Institut Français du Royaume-UniPaperback 115x175mm, 128pp. ISBN 978-1-7336281-0-5   In this short, dense essay, Jean Cavaillès evaluates philosophical efforts to determine the origin—logical or ontological—of scientific thought, arguing that, rather than seeking to found science in original intentional acts, a priori meanings, or foundational logical relations, any adequate theory must involve a history of the concept. Beginning with an account of Kant’s legacy and its internal bifurcations, the text then turns to a critique of logical positivism, and a detailed engagement with Husserl’s attempt to ground mathematical abstractions in intentional acts. Finding these positions untenable, and impressed above all by moments of disconti