Research Interests

Logic, Philosophy of Logic, Philosophy of Mathematics, History of Philosophy (Kant, Leibniz), Philosophy of Language.

Center-Related Research Program

I am investigating the norms that underlie certain rationally-governed activities. These include (but are not limited) to rational inquiries (knowledge seeking activities).  I am particularly interested in the activity of mathematical research, and in comparisons among mathematical, philosophical and empirical enquiries.  Recently I have been developing the notion of what I call a “standpoint” – a family of interrelated epistemological, cognitive, ontological and semantic/logical norms – that underlie a class of rational enquiries. I pay special attention to the conflicts of “rival” standpoints for mathematical and other enquiries. I pursue this program both systematically, and historically (looking at roots of this notion of a standpoint in early modern thought). I have a current grant to apply this program to the foundations of ‘intuitionistic’ mathematics.

Grants 

• National Endowment for the Humanities, Younger Humanist Fellowship for Independent Study and Research, 1975-76
• Philosophy of Science Center Grant, 1977 – 1978
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Younger Humanist Fellowship for Independent Study and Research, 1975-76
• Philosophy of Science Center Grant, 1977 – 1978
• National Endowment for the Humanities Stipend for Institute on Kant's Ethics, Summer 1983
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Summer Stipend 1985
• Fulbright Fellowship, 1991-1992
• Winston Foundation Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies, Jerusalem, 1994 —1995
• Israel Science Foundation Individual Research Grants:   1999-2001,  2002–2005, 2006–2010, 2014–2018,  2021 –2024
• Israel Science Foundation Grant for Research Seminar 2008:"Kant's Philosophy of Mathematics"
• Yad HaNadiv:2010-2013, Grant establishing "Study Program in the Center for Logic, Language and Cognition"  (together with Edit Doron, Malka Rapaport-Hovav, and Oron Shagrir

Published in

• American Philosophical Quarterly
• History and Philosophy of Logic
• Inquiry
• , Journal of Philosophical Logic
• Journal of Symbolic Logic
• The Monist
•  Synthese
• Topoi

Former Academic Director, National Library of Israel

see also

 https://www.jpost.com/Israel/National-Library-to-be-established-in-Jerusalem