1.a Education
Born October 12, 1950 in Freiburg im Breisgau.
married (10.9.1982) to Anne-Marie Merlin, town planer.
Children: Lisa (born 1985), Iris (born 1996).
1969: Baccalaureate, Berthold-Gymnasium, Freiburg
1969-71: Compulsory military service (18 months)
1971-74: Undergraduate and graduate studies of Mathematics, Philosophy, Greek Philology, Universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg and Paris VII
1977: M.A. in Mathematics (Diplom-Mathematiker), University of Heidelberg (M.A. Thesis: A Characterization of the Ordinal Number Γ0)
1981: Ph.D. in Philosophy, University of Saarbrücken, Ph.D. Thesis: "Constructivistic Perspectives in Ferdinand Gonseth's Approach of Philosophy of Mathematics". Advisors: Prof. K. Lorenz, Saarbrücken, Prof. G.-G. Granger, Aix-en-Provence (summa cum laude).
1990 Habilitation, University of Saarbrücken, Habilitation Thesis: "Between Construction and Analysis: Reflections on the Philosophy of Mathematics of J. Henri Poincaré and Charles S. Peirce"; (jury members: Prof. K. Lorenz, Prof. J. Loecks, Saarbrücken; Prof. G. Meggle, Leipzig; Prof. J.-C. Pariente, Clermont-Ferrand; Prof. Elie Zahar, London School of Economics).
1.b Academic Positions
Present Position: Professor emeritus (Classe Exceptionnelle 2, Université de Lorraine)
Primes PEDR-PES 1994-2019
Retirement: 08/31/2020
1981-1983 Research fellow, Collège de France, Paris (Prof. J. Vuillemin)
1984-1990 Research Assistant, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Saarbrücken (Prof. K. Lorenz)
1990-1992 Maître de conférences, University of Nancy 2
1992-… Full professor, University of Nancy 2 (Université de Lorraine)
1994-2003 Lecturer, University Louis Pasteur (Strasburg 1)
2005-2007 CNRS fellow
2006 (6 month): Visiting Scholar, Department of Philosophy, Berkeley
2010 (1 month): Invited Fellow, University Bielefeld, Dpt. of Philosophy
2016 (3 month): Visiting Scholar, Department of Philosophy, University of San Francisco
2018 (2 month): « Visting Scholar Collegio Matteo Rici », University of Macerata, Italy.
1.c Areas of Specialization and of competence
Areas of Specialization: Poincaré Studies, Philosophy of Mathematics, Philosophy of Logic, French Philosophy of Science in the XXe Century.
Areas of Competence: Philosophy of language, History of Science around 1900, Dialogic Logic.
1.d Awards and Honors
1973-1983 Fellow of the French Gouvernement, Paris ; Fellow of the Cusanuswerk, Bonn. (http://www.cusanuswerk.de/en/home/welcome/)., Fellow of the Fondation Fritz Thyssen, Essen ; Fellow of the Fondation Singer-Polignac, Paris.
1983 Dr. Eduard-Martin-Preis, Saarbrücken (for the PhD).
1988-… Elected Member of the Société des Amis de Jean Cavaillès, member of the board (elected 2002).
1990 Founding Member of the European Society for Analytic Philosophers (ESAP).
1997 Laudatio for Dr. h.c. Nelson Goodman, Université Nancy 2.
1999-2012 Member of the board of the Evert Willem Beth Foundation, Amsterdam.
2000-… Ordinary Member of the International Academy of Philosophy of Science, Bruxelles (http://www.lesacademies.net/fr/a-i-p-s/aips-nos-membres/aips-les-membres-actuels/aips-liste-alphabetique). Corr. Member since 1993.
2001-… Associated member of the Académie de Stanislas, Nancy.
2001-… Member of the Comité National Français d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences. Member of the executive board (http://www.cnfhps.org/cnfhps/composition), 2014- General Secretary
2003 Member of the council of the Société de philosophie des Sciences.
2004-...President of the scientific committee of the Jules Vuillemin Archive.
2006 Scientific award of the “Prince Louis de Polignac” Foundation, on a proposal from the Academy of Sciences, Paris (www.canalacademie.com/ida1199-Les-Prix-2006-de-la-Fondation.html).
2006 Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques.
2007 Laudatio for Dr. h.c. Paul Gochet, Université Nancy 2.
2008-2012 President of the Scientific Committee of the Department of Philosophie, ENS, Paris.
2009 Member of the Association for the Philosophy of Mathematical Practice.
2010 « Construction. Festschrift for Gerhard Heinzmann » (P.-E. Bour/ M. Rebuschi/ L. Rollet ; eds.), London : College Publication, 687 pages, 60 contributions. (http://www.collegepublications.co.uk/tributes/?00014).
2012 Member of the Steering committee of the Centenary of the death of H. Poicaré, Institut H.-Poincaré, Paris.
2012-2015, 2020-23 Assessor of the Council of the DLMPST (http://www.dlmpst.org/pages/council.php).
2014 Member of the Academia Europaea (http://www.ae-info.org/ae/Acad_Main).
2015 Member of the European Academy of Sciences, Officer of the Social Sciences and Humanities Division (https://www.eurasc.org/committees/scientific-committees/social-sciences-and-humanities-division)
2016-2021 President of the International Academy for Philosophy of Science (Bruxelles), http://www.lesacademies.net/fr/a-i-p-s/aips-presentation/aips-conseil-academique.
2017 « Gerhard Heinzmann, avant de devenir savant », in : L’Archipel des possibles, MSH Lorraine, ed. Sébastien Di Silvestro et Sylvie Camet.
2020-2023 Assessor of the DLMPST council (http://dlmps.org/pages/council/council-2020-2023.php).
2021 Member of the International Institute of Philosophie (https://www.i-i-p.org/EN).
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Professional Charges (selection)
2.a Research administration
1992-2007 Director and Founder of the Research Group " Archives Henri-Poincaré - Philosophie et Recherches sur les Sciences et les Technologies " (UMR 7117, CNRS).
2007-2014 Co-founder and Director of the “Lorraine Center of Humanities” (MSH Lorraine, USR 3261), Université de Lorraine;
1993-1996 Head of the Dept. of Philosophy.
1994-2004 Co-founder and co-director of the Groupe interuniversitaire de réflexion sur la philosophie des sciences. Organization of seminars and workshops in philosophy of science; creation of a lectureship position “Fillon”.
1994-2002, 2005-2007 Elected member of the ‘Conseil d’UFR Connaissance de l’Homme, University Nancy 2.
1995-12/2015 Elected Member of the Council (Conseil Scientifique) of Nancy 2 (1995-2012) and of the University of Lorraine (2012-2016).
1996-2015 Coordinator of an Erasmus/Socrates Program with the Universities of Saarbrücken, Greifswald, Rostock, Berlin (TU).
1994-2010 President of the Appointment Committee of the Dpt. of Philosophy, Nancy ; Member of the Appointment committees of Philosophy at the Universities of Strasburg 2, Clermont-Ferrand, Aix-Marseille I, Lille 3, EHESS, Paris-Nanterre, Paris I-Sorbonne, Paris-Diderot, ENS-Ulm and INPL-Nancy.
1996-2012 Chargé de mission and coordinator of the University Nancy 2 to the University Charter Saar-Lor-Lux.
2007-2008 Elected member of the Comité National des Universités (CNU ; 17th section).
2008-2012 Member of the Comité National du CNRS (35th section).
2007-2013 “Facilitator” of the Research-project “Homme et Société” of the Lorraine Region (50 operations, 3,5 millons d’euros; http://eureka.lorraine.eu/jahia/Jahia/fr/actualites?actu=21702).
2012-12/2015 Elected member of the Pôle scientifique Connaissance, langage, Communication, Sociétés of the University of Lorraine.
2014- Responsable pour Nancy du GDR « Philosophie des mathématiques ».
2016 Expert QS World University Rankings (University Tomsk, Russie).
2.b Editorial Work (Only Present Positions)
1996-… Founder and editor en chief of the Journal "Philosophia Scientiae. Travaux d'histoire et de philosophie des sciences/Studien zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte und -philosophie / Studies in History and Philosophy of Sciences".
1996-… Director of the Collection "Publications des Archives Henri-Poincaré / Publications of the Henri-Poincaré Archives", Birkhäuser/Springer.
Member of the editorial board of: Cahiers de Logique et d’Épistémologie, Dialogues and the Games of Logic A Philosophical Perspective, College Publication, London, Logic, Argumentation & Reasoning, Springer.
2.c Research Projects
2004-2006 Director of the International Program of Scientific Cooperation (Pics 2426): "Knowledge Systems and Scientific Practice in Germany, France and Italy from 1850 on History, Philosophy, Research Traditions".
2007-2011 Responsable of the ANR « chaire d’excellence senior» : Ideal of Proofs (Michael Detlefsen, Notre Dame University (800 000€)) in cooperation with Paris 7 and the Collège de France (Jacques Bouveresse), (http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/poincare/idealsofproof/).
2013-2016 French Coordinator of the ANR-DFG project with Prof. Hannes Leitgeb (Munich): Mathematics: Objectivity by Representation (ANR: 182.036 €).
2018-2021 French Coordinator of the ANR-DFG with Prof. Hannes Leitgeb (Munich): Formalism, Formalization, Intuition and Understanding in Mathematics : From Informal Practice to Formal Systems and Back Again (187.144€).
2.d Reports
Reports for Dialogue, Epistemologia, Erkenntnis, Revue d'histoire des mathématiques, Synthèse, Synthese, Philosophia Mathematica, Journal for General Philosophy of Science, Journal of Philosophy, etc.
Member of numerous evaluation committees (selection): AERES, CNRS, ESF, IUF (R. Pouivet, M. de Gaudemar, S. Gandon), Stichting voor Filosofie en Theologie, Hollande, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), DAAD, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Ministère de la Recherche, Fonds de Recherche sur la Société et la Culture de Québec, Fonds National Suisse de la Recherche Scientifique, National Taiwan University, Rapports Chaire Blaise Pascal, Comité français d’évaluation de la Coopération Universitaire et Scientifique avec le Brésil.
2.e Events Organized (selection)
1994 Organization (in collaboration with J.L. Greffe (INPL Nancy), M. Astroh (Greifswald) and K. Lorenz (Sarrebrücken)) of the "International Congress Henri-Poincaré". 1994 session of the "International Academy of Philosophy of Science" (more then 250 participants, 120 lecturers from 32 countries).
1997 Organization (in collaboration avec K. Lorenz (Saarbrücken) and G. Abel (Berlin)) of the International Conference "Ways of Worldmaking", in honor of Nelson Goodman. In the context of this conference, Prof. Goodman was awarded with Honorary Doctoral Degree of the University Nancy 2.
1998 International Conference "Evert Willem Beth (1908 - 1964) and his philosophical friends: from Bernays to Bochenski", co-organized with the E.W. Beth Foundation (Amsterdam).
2002 International Conference “Aperçus philosophiques en logique et en mathématiques : Histoire et actualité des théories sémantiques et syntaxiques alternatives“, Nancy, in cooperation with the Beth-Foundation (Amsterdam), the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (Amsterdam), the Goethe Institut (Nancy), (http://poincare.univ-lorraine.fr/fr/manifestations/apercus-philosophiques-en-logique-et-en-mathematiques-histoire-et-actualite-des).
2005 2005“Einstein in Context", Two Einstein days at the 22nd International Congress of History of Science, 2005, Beijing. Organized by Juergen Renn, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, Germany and Gerhard Heinzmann, Archives Poincaré. This workshop was sponsored by the Société Française de Physique in the frame of "Physique 2005".
2007 (with M. van Atten, P. Boldini, M. Bourdeau) of the international conference “One Hundred Years of Intuitionism (1907-2007), Cerisy.
2008 “Lebenswelt et logique : L’Ecole d’Erlangen comme héritier de l’empirisme logique (?) », Nancy.
2008 Co-organization (with J. van Benthem, J. Doorman, B. van Fraassen, Theo Kuipers, Hans Rott, Henk Visser) of the “E.W. Beth Centenary Conference”, Amsterdam.
2009 1er Paris-Nancy PhilMath Workshop (IHPST, Rehseis, Archives Poincaré, ANR chaire d’excellence Detlefsen), Nancy, 21-22 October.
2010 (with F. Tremblay) “Logic and Rational Reconstruction of Science from a Pragmatic Point of View”, Nancy.
2011 President of the Organizing Committee oft he 14th International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, Nancy, July 19-26 (http://www.clmps2011.org/).
2012 Co-organization (with Frank Hofmann, Luxemburg and Luc Schneider, Saarbrücken) of the International Conference “Intuition and Evidence -- Naturalism or Anti-naturalism?” (http://poincare.univ-lorraine.fr/fr/manifestations/intuition-et-evidence-naturalisme-ou-anti-naturalisme).
2014 Organization of the conference Pragmatism and the Practical Turn in Philosophy of Sciences. Session 2014 of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences. Pont-à-Mousson, September 10-14 (50 participants of 12 countries).
2015 Co-organization (with M. Bourdeau, W. Miskiewicz and P. Wagner) of the international conference « 1935-2015 80 ans de philosophie scientifique », Cerisy.
2017 Co-organization (with C. Debru) « Les Académies d’Europe et la Première Guerre Mondiale 1914-1925. Cycle de conférences organisées par l’Académie des sciences, la Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina et la Royal Society; Seconde Conférence ; Les Académies en guerre“, 8-9 juin 2017, à l’Université de Lorraine à Metz.
2017 Co-organization (with V. Giardino and B. Méles) « Neuvième Rencontre Française de Philosophie des Mathématiques - FPMW9 2017. Mathematics: Objectivity by Representation - Nancy, MSH Lorraine, salle internationale (324), October 4-7, 2017.
2017 Leopoldina et la Royal Society; Seconde Conférence ; Les Académies en guerre“, 8-9 juin 2017, Université de Lorraine in Metz.
2020 Co-organization (with V. Giardino, A. Arana & B. Méles) « Douzième Rencontre Française de Philosophie des Mathématiques – FPMW12 2020. Formalization, Formalism, Intuition and Understanding in Mathematics - Nancy, November 5-13, afternoons, 2020.
2.f Hosting of Foreign Researchers and Postdocs
Alex Burri (Germany) : 2005; Howard Sankey (Australy) 2006; Michiyo Nakane (Japan) 2006 ; Narahari Rao (Germany) : 2004 - 2005 ; Qizhi Yu (China) : 2004 - 2005 ; Klaus Volkert (Germany): 2007; Richard Tieszen (USA): 2007; Bertram Kienzle (Germany): 2008; Kai Wehmeier (USA): 2009; Göran Sundholm (The Netherlands): 2010; Johannes Lenhard (Germany): 2011; David Stump (USA) : 2014; Kai Wehmeier (USA): 2020.
Giuseppina Ronzitti (Italy): 2005-06; Ralf Krömer (Germany): 2006-08; Tero Tulenheimo (Finland): 2007; Oliver Schlaudt (Germany): 2008-09; Frédérick Tremblay (Canada): 2009-10; Jeremy Shipley (USA): 2012-13; Jacintho Del Vecchio (Brazil): 2013; Kate Hodesdon (Bristol): September 2014-January 2015; Kai Büttner (Zürich) : January 2015-16. Lucimar Donizete Gusmão, Université d'État de Maringa – UEM, Parana, Brésil, April – June 15 2017; Maté Szabo (USA), September 2018-July 2019.
2.g Legacies Organization for the Archives Poincaré
1991 Fund "Borgers" of Leuven (10 000 documents and reprints in logic).
1992 Legacy “Henri Poincaré” left to the Archives Poincaré by François Poincaré (Paris)
2004 Legacy “Jules Vuillemin” left to the Archives Poincaré by Gudrun Vuillemin (Pontarlier)
2009 Fund Bourbaki from P. Cartier and M. Boutet de Monvel, Paris.
2012 Legacy “Kuno Lorenz” left to the Archives Poincaré by Kuno Lorenz (Saarbrücken).
2013/14 Legacy “Alexandre Métraux” left to the Archives Poincaré by Alexandre Métraux (Heidelberg).
2016 Legacy “Jean Largeault” left to the Archives Poincaré by Anne Fagot-Largeault (Collège de France).
2017 Legacy “Maurice Caveing” left to the Archives Poincaré and the MSH Lorraine.
2020 Legacy “Maurice Clavelin” left to the Archives Poincaré.
2021 Legacy “Jacques Bouveresse” left to the Archives Poincaré.
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Teaching Activities
3.a Courses (a sample)
From 1990 to 2006, I fulfilled every year my regular teaching duties and I taught logic, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, general philosophy and ancient philosophy at all levels of the university teaching system. I supervised tens of master or DEA theses and probationary period reports.
From 1992 to 2001, I was visiting lecturer at the Université Louis Pasteur (Strasbourg 1) for DEA-courses in philosophy of science, and from 1994 to 1998 visiting lecturer at the Université Henri Poincaré (Nancy 1) for history of science courses at the Faculty of Dentists.
As director of the MSH, I benefited, from 2007 to 2014, a discharge from 33% to 66% of regular service and I was teaching every year a new subject matter at the Master level (50H):
What systematicity for the philosophy of language? (2007/08); Immediacy: some classical solutions and contemporary responses (2008/09); A pragmatic conception of the object (2009/10); Symbolic construction (2010/11); Analytical Philosophy of Language (2011/12); Theory of Knowledge (2012/13), Epistemic intuition (2013/14).
Since 2013/2014, I am engaged with two courses in the distance learning course of the Master in Epistemology, History of Science and Technology and since 2014/2015, I am doing a full service in Philosophy from the first year (Logic) to the Master (Thought experiments) through a L2-course for 100 students (education sciences) on the major problems of philosophy.
Master courses outside of my areas of specialization (Poincaré Studies, Philosophy of Mathematics, Philosophy of Logic, French Philosophy of Science in the XXe century):
1990 : Overcoming of metaphysics?
1991 : Epistemology of human sciences: metaphors
1994 : German philosophy: Wittgenstein II
1995 : The concept of analogy
1996 : Aristotle’s Metaphysics: first philosophy or ontology?
1998 : Cassirer: Substance and function
2000 : The role of intuition in theory of knowledge: from Aristotle to Hume
2001 : The role of intuition in theory of knowledge: from Kant to Bergson
2004-2005 : French enlightenment
2005 : Common sense
2006 : Pragmatism
2007 : Philosophy and systematicity
2008 : Philosophy of Language
2010 : Fictions and Metaphysics
2014 : Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason
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: Historiography of Philosophy
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: The Origins of Analytic Philosophy
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: Thought experiments
3.b PhD students advised
1996-2020 Advisor of 20 PhD theses (*) (6 co-supervisions) and 7 Habilitation theses (**).
*1996 Ahmed Gharnati, La correspondance entre Henri Poincaré et Georges Howard Darwin: origine et stabilité des figures piriformes, directeur de thèse.
*1998 Vincent Borella, L'introduction de la relativité en France, 1905-1922, directeur de thèse. Current position: inspecteur d’Académie.
*1999 Etienne Bolmont, Le rôle épistémique des analogies à l'exemple de l'électricité, du magnétisme et de l'électromagnétisme au XIXe siècle, directeur de thèse. Current situation: Maître de conférences à l'IUFM de Lorraine, retired.
*1999 Laurent Rollet, Henri Poincaré. Des Mathématiques à la philosophie. Etude du parcours intellectuel, social et politique d'un mathématicien au début du siècle. Current position: Maître de conférences à l’Université de Lorraine.
*2000 Manuel Rebuschi, Peut-on dire ce qui n'est pas ? Objets mathématiques et autres fictions: sémantique et ontologie, directeur de thèse. Current position: Maître de conférences HDR, Université de Lorraine.
**2000 (directeur d'habilitation) : François Schmitz, Logique, Langage, Philosophie (après Frege). Situation actuelle : Professeur à l'Université de Nantes. Current position: Professor, Université de Nantes.
*2004 Mohsen Sahkri, De la logistique à la linguistique. Louis Couturat et le parcours de l'universalité.
*2004 Ralf Krömer, La théorie des catégories : ses apports mathématiques et ses implications épistémologiques. Current position: Professeur W3 Wuppertal (Allemagne).
*2006 Denis Grison, Du principe de précaution à la philosophie de la précaution.