Prospects for practice-based philosophy of logic

Abstract

We explore prospects for practice-based approaches to logical theory, in particular the link between classical and intuitionistic logic and the inferential structure of traditional practices of representation & argument in science and mathematics. After discussing some key notions about practice, we outline the connection between representation practices and classical logic, and then consider a spectrum of actual practices followed or proposed by (real) scientists. Intuitionistic logic helps to clarify the potential of practice-based approaches for understanding pluralism, and to hammer some key points about the general thesis.