Research interests

My research interests fall into the areas of history and philosophy of mathematics and science, epistemology, and cognitive science. In particular, I am interested in the developments in the 19th and early 20th century that led to the emergence of modern mathematics and logic, and in systematic investigations regarding axiomatics, the use of notation, analogical reasoning, concept formation, and theory development. I am also involved in editorial projects of the works of Pasch, Hilbert, Bernays, and Carnap, and a member of the McGill Research Group on History and Philosophy of Mathematics.

Recent news

  • The paper "Who's afraid of mathematical platonism? An historical perspective" has appeared online in the The Richness of the History of Mathematics (December 2023).
  • The paper "Mathematical experiments on paper and computer", with Juan Fernández González, has appeared online in the Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice (November 2023).
  • The paper "From a doodle to a theorem: A case study in mathematical discovery", with Juan Fernández González, has appeared online in the Journal for Humanistic Mathematics (January 2023).
  • The paper "Tables as powerful representational tools", has appeared in the proceedings of DIAGRAMS 2022 (September 2022).
  • fig1 The CSHPM 2019–2020 Volume of Research in History and Philosophy of Mathematics, edited by Maria Zack and myself, has been published. (May 2022).
  • Senior Fellow (2021–2026) at the CIPSH Chair for Diversity of Mathematical Research Cultures and Practices (April 2022)
  • The paper "How can numerals be iconic? More varieties of iconicity", has appeared in the proceedings of DIAGRAMS 2021 (September 2021).
  • The paper "Calculus as method or calculus as rules? Boole and Frege on the aims of a logical calculus", with David Waszek, has appeared online in Synthese (July 2021).
  • The paper "Babbage's guidelines for the design of mathematical notations", with Jonah Dutz, has been published in Studies in Philosophy of Science (June 2021).
  • The paper "Peano on symbolization, design principles for notations, and the dot notation" has been published in Philosophia Scientiæ (March 2021).
  • My first paper in French, with Emmylou Haffner, "Dedekind et la crèation du continu arithmétique" has been published in L'Épistemologie du dedans. Mélanges en l'honneur de Hourya Benis-Sinaceur, edited by E. Haffner and D. Rabouin (2021).
  • The paper "Dedekind on continuity", with Emmylou Haffner, has been published in The History of Continua, edited by S. Shapiro and G. Hellman (2021).
  • ... old news.