B.Phil. Seminar Volker Halbach and Tim Williamson
Logic and Philosophy of Logic

Michaelmas term 2026, Tuesday 14–16, Ryle Room (20.339)

At the beginning of each class we will introduce the topic by presenting an article or book chapter, which all participants will be expected to have read in advance. If participants would like to see a particular paper or topic discussed, please get in touch with the class givers.

This will be followed by a discussion. Here is our preliminary plan:

week 1, 13 October • Compactness • Readings:

Hodges, Wilfrid and Thomas Scanlon, "First-order Model Theory", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds)

Westerståhl, Dag, "Generalized Quantifiers", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.)

week 2, 20 October • Williamson, Timothy: "Everything." Philosophical perspectives 17 (2003): 415-465 and Tarski, Alfred: “On The Concept of Logical Consequence,” J.H. Woodger (trans.), in Tarski 1983, pp. 409–420, originally"Über den Begriff the logischen Folgerung", Actes du congrès international de philosophie scientifique, vol. 7 (1936), 1-11

week 3, 27 October • We continue the discussion from the previous weak with the same papers.

week 4, 3 November • Halbach, Volker: "Unrestricted Quantification and Logical Constants", Journal for the Philosophy of Mathematics 1 (2024), 123–140

week 5, 10 November • Heck, Richard Kimberley: "Truth, Reflection, and Implicit Commitment",in New Directions in the Foundations of Mathematics, edited by Cezary Cieslinski and Matteo Zicchetti.

week 6, 17 November •

week 7, 24 November •

week 8: 1 December•