Juan Redmond

juanredmond@yahoo.fr

Juan Redmond wrote his PhD dissertation, entitled Dynamic Logic of Fiction. For a dialogical approach (Lille 2010), under the supervision of Prof. Shahid Rahman at the University of Lille 3. Redmond is currently an associated member of the laboratory Savoirs, Textes, Langage (UMR8163) and an active collaborator of the research group Pragmatisme Dialogique headed by Shahid Rahman (Lille 3). [cv]

Research

My project aims to develop a view of scientific model systems based on the artefactual theory of Amie Thomasson (1999). At the starting point we argue that the practice of modeling in science shares important aspects with the creation and handling of fictional entities introduced in novels and other forms of literature. We aspire to profit from this analogy in order to deepen our knowledge about the nature of model systems, particularly discussing the following issues: What kind of things are model systems? What makes statements about them to be true or false? What relation does the model systems have to bear to the target that the model is trying to explain? And what is the role of conscious users when representing something by model systems? Our claim is that the artefactual theory of Amie Thomasson, as it was developed by the dialogically pragmatic approach (Rahman & Fontaine 2010; Redmond, 2010), has the necessary theoretical resources to answer these questions.

 Modeling in science

 Dialogical logic

 Fiction and argumentation

 Abstracts objects and artefacts

 Literature

PhD in Philosophy: Dynamic Logic of Fiction. For a dialogical approach

Members of the Jury: Pr. Dr. Jacques Dubucs (Paris I), Pr. Dr. Shahid Rahman (Lille 3), Pr. Dr. Norah Dei Cas (Lille 3), Pr. Dr. Paul Gochet (Pré-rapporteur, U. Liège), Pr. Dr. Gerhard Heinzmann (Nancy 2), Pr. Dr. John Woods (Pré-rapporteur, British Columbia et King’s College). (defended on June the 3th 2010.)
Mention : Summa cum Laude

Abstract

My PhD concerns the elaboration of a dynamic free logic in the conceptual and dialogical frame developed by the works of Lorenzen and Lorenz and continued by Shahid Rahman’s work (Lille 3, France).

The challenge is to offer an innovative understanding of existence as a function of choice. Our argument is to show that the existence should not be understood as a predicate (in a static way) but in terms of choices, (in a dynamic way). Due to its pragmatic dimension, the dialogical approach is the best context for implementing this concept of choice in argumentations. One of the consequences of this approach is that the ontological status of the characters may vary in a fictional history. We end with a new challenge for the theory of the fiction: understanding fictions in relation to a creative act, once again in a dynamic way. For this purpose, we implement the phenomenological notion of ontological dependence (inspired by the work of Amie Thomasson[1]). The dialogical and dynamic framework we offer, aims to reflect changes in the ontological status of the characters. This last statement has been inspired by the writer Jorge Luis Borges [2]. As a matter of fact, some of Borges’ characters remain ontologically undetermined throughout the story; some others change from fiction to real or vice versa. Sometimes, such transformations require an update of the status of each element in the story. We make this ontologically undetermined dimension explicit by means of the notion of symbolic status of Hugh MacColl [3].

The thesis is composed by three sections divided in nine chapters. The first section focuses on the notions of ontological dependence and artefact. The second section analyzes the notions of symbolic status and dynamic. Finally, the third section measures the relevance of obtained results by applying them to two stories written by J.L. Borges: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius and Pierre Ménard, author of the Quixote.

[1] Thomasson, Amie L., 1999. Fiction and Metaphysics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[2] Borges, Jorge Luis, 1994. Ficciones/Fictions. Gallimard (édition bilingue).

[3] Rahman, S. & Redmond, J., 2007. Hugh MacColl. An overview of his Logical Work with AnthologyLondon: College Publications. [Trad. Sébastien Magnier, (2008)]

Further Reading: Est-ce qu’il y a des fictions? (French)
Para continuar leyendo : Existencia y no existencia: Es que hay ficciones? (Español)

BOOKS

-Redmond, Juan & Fontaine, Matthieu (2011). How to play dialogues. An introduction to Dialogical Logic. London, College Publications (Col. Dialogues and the Games of Logic. A Philosophical Perspective N° 1). (ISBN 978-1-84890-046-2)
-Redmond, Juan (2011). Logique dynamique de la fiction: pour une approche dialogique. London, College Publications (Col. Cahiers de logique et Epistémologie). (ISBN 978-1-84890-032-8)
-Redmond, Juan (Editeurr) (2009). Promiscuos y Promisorios. Mendoza, Ediciones de LunaRoja (Dir: J. Redmond & D. Salas). (ISBN 978-987-25426-0-3)
-Rahman, Shahid et Redmond, Juan (2008). Hugh MacColl et la naissance du pluralisme logique : suivi d’extraits majeurs de son œuvre dans Cahiers de logique et Épistémologie N°3, London, College Publications, 2008. (ISBN 978-1904987826)
-Fontaine, Matthieu et Redmond, Juan (2008). Logique Dialogique : une introduction, Volume 1 : Méthode de Dialogique : Règles et Exercices, dans Cahiers de logique et Épistémologie N°5, London, College Publications, 2008. (ISBN 978-1-904987-94-9)
-Redmond, Juan (2007). Traduction du texte Gottlob Frege zur Einführung, de Markus Stepanians, dans Cuadernos de Lógica, Epistemología y Lenguaje, vol.1, London, College Publications, 2007. (ISBN 978-1-904987-58-1)
-Rahman, Shahid et Redmond, Juan (2007). Hugh MacColl. An overview of his Logical Work with Anthology, London, College Publications, 2007. (ISBN 978-1-904987-49-9)

ARTICLES

- Redmond J. y Valladares D. L.. "Modelos en ciencia y ficción literaria: posibilidades de una nueva perspectiva a través de la Teoría Artefactual " aceptado para su publicación, a aparecer en el número 3 de la revista "Revista de Epistemología y Cs. Humanas", 2012. ISSN 1852-625X -Redmond, Juan (2011). « Borges y dinámica de ficciones », BORGES FRANCIA (Cámpora, M. & González J.R. editores) Buenos Aires (Argentine), Universidad Católica (Centro de estudios de literatura comparada), 2010. ISBN: 978-987-26952-3-1
-Redmond, Juan (2011). “Filosofía y Ficción” en Logos e Historia, vol. N°4, Mendoza (Argentine), Ed. Faculté Philosophie , U.N. de Cuyo, 2004. p. 22-41.
-Rahman, Shahid et Redmond, Juan (2007). « Hugh McColl and the birth of logical pluralism», Amsterdam, Handbook of the history of logic (D. Gabbay/J. Woods), vol.4, Elsevier/North-Holland, 2007. p. 536-606.
-Redmond, Juan (2004). « La obra de Immanuel Kant en la obra de Gottlob Frege: la pregunta por la fuente de conocimiento de la aritmética » (traduction du premier chapitre de l’œuvre de Markus Stepanians : Gottlob Frege zur Einführung) dans Logos e Historia, vol. N°1, Mendoza (Argentine), Ed. Faculté Philosophie , U.N. de Cuyo, 2004. p. 111-129.
-Redmond, Juan (2004). « La falsa sutileza del principio de inducción completa » en Cuadernos del Centro de Graduados, N°6, Mendoza (Argentina), Centro de Graduados,  2004. p.50-62. (ISSN 1515-5609)

FORTHCOMING

- Redmond, Juan Cuadrado, Guillermo; Bello, Carlos; Modelos: entre la realidad y la ficción. Editorial Universidad Tecnológica (Regional Mendoza), Mendoza (Argentina).

- Fontaine, Matthieu, Redmond, Juan. "To Be is To Be Chosen – A Dialogical Understanding of Ontological Commitment", in Logic of Knowledge. Theory and Applications, C. Bares Gomez, S. Magniez et F. Salguero (eds.), col. Dialogues and Games of Logic, Sh. Rahman, N. Clerbout et M. Fontaine (eds.), College Publication, London. (Forthcoming)
-Fontaine, Matthieu, Redmond, Juan et Rahman, Shahid. "Etre et Etre choisi, Vers une logique dynamique de la fiction", in Fictions : logiques, langages, mondes, col. Cahiers de logique et d'Epistémologie, J. Dubucs & B. Hill Eds., College Publications, Londres. (Forthcoming)

 Existencia y no existencia: Es que hay ficciones? [Español]