Poincaré’s conventionalism has thoroughly transformed both the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mathematics. In the former it gave rise to new insights into the complexities of scientific method, in the latter to a new account of the nature of (so-called) necessary truth. Not only proponents of conventionalism, such as the logical positivists, were influenced by Poincaré, but also outspoken critics of conventionalism, such as Quine, Putnam, and (as I will argue) Wittgenstein, were deeply inspired by conventionalist ideas. Indeed, during the twentieth century, most philosophers of science and mathematics engaged in dialogue with conventionalism. As is often the case with complex ideas, there is no consensus about the meaning of conventionalism in general and Poincaré’s original version of it in particular. Nonetheless, notions such as underdetermination (of theory), empirical equivalence (of incompatible theories), implicit definition, holism, and conceptual relativity, all of which can be linked to Poincaré’s writings, have become central to philosophy. In tracing the flow of Poincaré’s ideas through the philosophical space of the twentieth century, this article emphasizes not only the stimulus provided by his actual views but also the effects of misreading and unjustified appropriation.
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Janet Folina;
(2014)
Poincaré and the Invention of Convention
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Laurent Rollet;
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Portrait of Henri Poincaré as a Young Philosopher: The Formative Years (1860–1873)
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Antonio A. P. Videira;
(2014)
Poincaré, Indifferent Hypotheses and Metaphysics
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María de Paz;
Robert DiSalle;
(2014)
Poincaré, Philosopher of Science: Problems and Perspectives
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Gerhard Heinzmann;
(2014)
Does the French Connection (Poincaré, Lautman) Provide Some Insights Facing the Thesis That Meta-mathematics Is an Exception to the Slogan That Mathematics Concerns Structures?
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Isabel Serra;
(2014)
Henri Poincaré: A Scientist Inspired by His Philosophy
(/isis/citation/CBB874804009/)
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Augusto J. Franco Oliveira;
(2014)
Poincaré and the Principles of the Calculus
(/isis/citation/CBB092613565/)
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Reinhard Kahle;
(2014)
Poincaré in Göttingen
(/isis/citation/CBB935280110/)
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María Paz;
(2014)
The Third Way Epistemology: A Re-characterization of Poincaré’s Conventionalism
(/isis/citation/CBB858791402/)
Chapter
Robert DiSalle;
(2014)
Poincaré on the Construction of Space-Time
(/isis/citation/CBB279934786/)
Chapter
João Príncipe;
(2014)
Henri Poincaré: The Status of Mechanical Explanations and the Foundations of Statistical Mechanics
(/isis/citation/CBB035763250/)
Chapter
Jeremy Heis;
(2015)
Arithmetic and Number in the Philosophy of Symbolic Forms
(/isis/citation/CBB393559070/)
Book
Bour, Pierre Edouard;
Rebuschi, Manuel;
Rollet, Laurent;
(2010)
Construction: Festschrift for Gerhard Heinzmann
(/isis/citation/CBB001032083/)
Article
Katherine Dunlop;
(2016)
Poincaré on the Foundations of Arithmetic and Geometry. Part 1: Against “Dependence-Hierarchy” Interpretations
(/isis/citation/CBB736440511/)
Chapter
Gerhard Heinzmann;
(2016)
Kant et l'intuition épistémique
(/isis/citation/CBB981942154/)
Book
Poincaré, Henri;
Gould, Stephen Jay;
(2001)
Value of Science: Essential Writings of Henri Poincaré
(/isis/citation/CBB000102174/)
Chapter
Andreas Kamlah;
(2013)
Everybody Has the Right to Do What He Wants: Hans Reichenbach’s Volitionism and Its Historical Roots
(/isis/citation/CBB961921075/)
Chapter
Flavia Padovani;
(2013)
Genidentity and Topology of Time: Kurt Lewin and Hans Reichenbach
(/isis/citation/CBB383957533/)
Chapter
Arkadiusz Chrudzimski;
(2013)
Gestalt, Equivalency, and Functional Dependency: Kurt Grelling’s Formal Ontology
(/isis/citation/CBB908872997/)
Chapter
Helmut Pulte;
(2013)
J. F. Fries’ Philosophy of Science, the New Friesian School and the Berlin Group: On Divergent Scientific Philosophies, Difficult Relations and Missed Opportunities
(/isis/citation/CBB947568855/)
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