WORKSHOP: Legacy of the Tsinghua Logic School
  清华逻辑学派的传统  


In 1926, recently graduated from Columbia University, Jin Yuelin came back to China and founded the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University. With new appointments of Shen Youding and Wang Xianjun in subsequent years, the logic group grew very fast and attracted many young talents. One prominent student of Jin Yuelin was Wang Hao, who later took his PhD degree at Harvard and became a well-known logician worldwide. This pioneering history was recorded in a recent article by Jan Vrhovski: “The Qinghua Logic School: Mathematical Logic at Qinghua University in Peking, 1926–1945”. In 1952, due to the policy of “reorganization of colleges and departments”, Tsinghua’s philosophy department was moved to Peking University. Wang Xianjun stayed there ever since, while Jin Yuelin and Shen Youding soon moved once more, to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In this way the logic tradition spread. In 2000 Tsinghua officially restored its philosophy department with a focus in logic. In the last two decades, Tsinghua has been making lots of progress in logic, with several major appointments. (for more information see the website: www.tsinghualogic.net/JRC).

On the occasion of Tsinghua University’s anniversary in April this year, we are organizing a small workshop to discuss the Tsinghua logic tradition, the ideas of the early founding logicians, and plans for our future development.

Invited speakers:

Yang Disheng

Professor (retired), Tsinghua University. Graduated from the Department of Philosophy in 1952, worked in Tsinghua University for a long time, and participated in the establishment of the Philosophy Teaching and Research Group of Tsinghua University, the High School Affiliated to Tsinghua University, and the Institute of Ideology and Culture of Tsinghua University. He has published works in logic, and philosophy. In 2020, he published a monograph “On the Synthesis and Innovation of Tsinghua School and Culture”.

Zhang Jialong

Researcher (retired), Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In 1961, he graduated from the Philosophy Department of Peking University, and continued with postgraduate studies in mathematics and logic. In 1965 he joined the Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He has published monographs such as “Axioms, Meta-Mathematics and Philosophy”, “History of Mathematical Logic Development – From Leibniz to Gödel”, “Russell’s Logic and Philosophical Inquiry”.

Xing Taotao

Professor, Department of Philosophy, Peking University. His research areas are logic and philosophy of mathematics. Director of the Logic Research Section and member of the Degree Committee, Department of Philosophy, Peking University. Author of the book Mathematical Logic (2008), and co-translator of Wang Hao’s book A Logical Journey: From Godel to Philosophy (with Wang Wei and Hao Zhaokuan, Zhejiang University Press, 2009)

Jan Vrhovski

Researcher, Institute of Asian Studies, University of Ljubljana. His main research fields are Ludwig Wittgenstein, history of Chinese logic, modern Chinese philosophy, and history and philosophy of science in modern China. In 2021, he published a paper “Qinghua Logic School: 1926-1945”, which studies the Tsinghua Logic School from a historical perspective. It has had a great impact in China and internationally.