Interdisciplinary Partnerships Through the Logic and Reasoning Institute

In 2013, Thomas Adajian, Associate Professor of Philosophy, and Tracy Lupher, Professor of Philosophy, proposed a multi-disciplinary logic and reasoning institute at JMU. Their goal was to raise the profile of the study of logic at JMU; to highlight its centrality to intellectual inquiry of any kind; to enrich training in logic available to philosophy majors; and to connect any students interested in studying logic with faculty and students in other majors that study logic.

Along with William Knorpp, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Elizabeth Brown, Professor of Mathematics, Christopher Fox, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, and others, Adajian and Lupher created the JMU Logic and Reasoning Institute (LRI). The group also organized a crossdisciplinary Logic and Reasoning minor, composed of core classes taught in the Philosophy and Religion department and electives — such as Philosophy of Physics or Logic and Legal Reasoning — in philosophy, math, computer science, and integrated science and technology.

LRI has sponsored many cross-disciplinary conferences, workshops, and colloquia and collaborated with departments and centers across the university. This past year, working with the JMU Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World, Ethical Reasoning in Action, and the Cohen Center for the Humanities, LRI organized a visit by the University of Tennessee logician Dr.

John Nolt to address environmental ethics. LRI also partnered with JMU’s Madison Center for Civic Engagement and the Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue to organize a visiting lecture by Bowling Green State University philosopher Dr. Hrishikesh Joshi about his recent book, Why It’s Okay to Speak Your Mind.

Since 2013, dozens of students have graduated with the Logic and Reasoning minor while majoring in a wide range of disciplines — including philosophy and physics, computer science and chemistry, math and media arts and design. Research assistants have pursued graduate work in philosophy, math, and psychology. “Chris Runion, with whom Tracy and I both collaborated, went on to do a doctorate in quantitative research methods; he’s now chief measurement scientist at the National Board of Medical Examiners,” Adajian shared.

Currently the sole director of LRI, Adajian continues working to expand both the minor and LRI and looks forward to working with a new logician in computer science, Dr. Siddharth Bhaskar. “This past year we formed an alliance with the Center for Diagrammatic and Computational Philosophy at Endicott College, holding an online workshop and mini-conference on Charles Peirce’s diagrammatic logic; another workshop is planned for the fall.”