Introduction to Formal Philosophy /

Abstract

Introduction to Formal Philosophy intends to present the formal philosophy landscape in all its splendour. In self-contained entries written by experts in the field, the book introduces the methods of formal philosophy and provides an overview over the major areas of philosophy in which formal methods play crucial roles. The presentations are comparatively non-technical in the sense that definitions and theorems are stated with standard formal rigour, but much emphasis is placed on clarifying the relationships between formal constructions and the informal notions that they represent. Proofs and derivations are normally not presented. The main focus is on showing how formal treatments of philosophical problems may help us understand them better, solve some of them and even present new philosophical problems that would never have seen the light of day without the use of a formal apparatus.