Pavel Tichý
Encyclopedia
Pavel Tichý (ˈpavɛl ˈcɪxiː; 18 February 1936 Brno
, Czechoslovakia
– 26 October 1994 Dunedin
, New Zealand
) was a Czech
logician, philosopher and mathematician
.
He worked in the field of intensional logic
and founded Transparent Intensional Logic
, an original theory of the logical analysis of natural languages – the theory is devoted to the problem of saying exactly what it is that we learn, know and can communicate when we come to understand what a sentence means. He spent roughly 25 years working on it. His main work is a book The Foundations of Frege's Logic, published by Walter de Gruyter
in 1988.
until 1948 when they moved to Vsetín
. At school he was already a brilliant student. He also liked playing music of Jaroslav Ježek
on the piano. After finishing studies in Vsetin he moved to Prague
followed by his parents. Tichý graduated in 1959 at Charles University in Prague. He stayed there tutoring as an assistant from 1961 to 1968 at the department of Logic at Faculty of Philosophy. One of his other hobbies was carpentry. He was said to be perfectionist in everything he did, whether he was learning a foreign language or making a table.
In 1968 he received an invitation from Exeter University in the United Kingdom
. He was permitted to leave the country even though it was shortly after Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia in the Prague Spring
. He decided not to return back. In 1970 he emigrated with his family to New Zealand, by ship. He started teaching at the University of Otago
in Dunedin, New Zealand where he became Professor of Philosophy at Otago in 1981. Tichý stayed teaching there until his death. He is remembered as ferocious debater who liked to express his views directly regardless of any bad implications it could have. This made him a lot of friends but also a lot of enemies.
Four years after the Velvet revolution
, in 1993, Tichý was offered the position of Head of the Department of Logic at the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of Charles University in Prague
. He planned to move to Prague in 1995 but committed suicide before taking up this position.
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
– 26 October 1994 Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
) was a Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
logician, philosopher and mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
.
He worked in the field of intensional logic
Intensional logic
Intensional logic is an approach to predicate logic that extends first-order logic, which has quantifiers that range over the individuals of a universe , by additional quantifiers that range over terms that may have such individuals as their value...
and founded Transparent Intensional Logic
Transparent Intensional Logic
Transparent Intensional Logic is a logical system created by Pavel Tichý. Due to its rich procedural semantics TIL is in particular apt for the logical analysis of natural language. From the formal point of view, TIL is a hyperintensional, partial, typed lambda-calculus...
, an original theory of the logical analysis of natural languages – the theory is devoted to the problem of saying exactly what it is that we learn, know and can communicate when we come to understand what a sentence means. He spent roughly 25 years working on it. His main work is a book The Foundations of Frege's Logic, published by Walter de Gruyter
Walter de Gruyter
Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG is a scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. Its origins date back to 1749 when it was given the right to print books by King Frederick II of Prussia. -De Gruyter Mouton:...
in 1988.
Early life and education
Tichý was born in Brno in 1936. His father was an insurance clerk. His family lived in ZlínZlín
Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company...
until 1948 when they moved to Vsetín
Vsetín
Vsetín is a town in Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 28,500 inhabitants and lies on the Vsetínská Bečva river.The area around Vsetín, called Vsetínsko, is spread out on the foothills of the Vsetín, Hostýn and Vizovice Highlands around the Bečva River...
. At school he was already a brilliant student. He also liked playing music of Jaroslav Ježek
Jaroslav Ježek
Jaroslav Ježek was a Czech composer, pianist and conductor, author of jazz, classical, incidental and film music.- Life :...
on the piano. After finishing studies in Vsetin he moved to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
followed by his parents. Tichý graduated in 1959 at Charles University in Prague. He stayed there tutoring as an assistant from 1961 to 1968 at the department of Logic at Faculty of Philosophy. One of his other hobbies was carpentry. He was said to be perfectionist in everything he did, whether he was learning a foreign language or making a table.
In 1968 he received an invitation from Exeter University in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He was permitted to leave the country even though it was shortly after Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia in the Prague Spring
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
. He decided not to return back. In 1970 he emigrated with his family to New Zealand, by ship. He started teaching at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
in Dunedin, New Zealand where he became Professor of Philosophy at Otago in 1981. Tichý stayed teaching there until his death. He is remembered as ferocious debater who liked to express his views directly regardless of any bad implications it could have. This made him a lot of friends but also a lot of enemies.
Four years after the Velvet revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
, in 1993, Tichý was offered the position of Head of the Department of Logic at the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
. He planned to move to Prague in 1995 but committed suicide before taking up this position.
Degrees and academic appointment
- PhDr. (Charles UniversityCharles University in PragueCharles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
, 1959), thesis: Výklad Gödelovy věty o neúplnosti v prosté teorii typů [An Exposition of Gödel'sKurt GödelKurt Friedrich Gödel was an Austrian logician, mathematician and philosopher. Later in his life he emigrated to the United States to escape the effects of World War II. One of the most significant logicians of all time, Gödel made an immense impact upon scientific and philosophical thinking in the...
Incompleteness TheoremGödel's incompleteness theoremsGödel's incompleteness theorems are two theorems of mathematical logic that establish inherent limitations of all but the most trivial axiomatic systems capable of doing arithmetic. The theorems, proven by Kurt Gödel in 1931, are important both in mathematical logic and in the philosophy of...
in the Simple Theory of TypesType theoryIn mathematics, logic and computer science, type theory is any of several formal systems that can serve as alternatives to naive set theory, or the study of such formalisms in general...
] - Candidate of Sciences (Charles University, 1964), thesis: Vyčíslitelnost ve vztahu k teoriím [On Computability w.r.t. Theories]
- DocentDocentDocent is a title at some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks below professor . Docent is also used at some universities generically for a person who has the right to teach...
(Charles University, 1969), thesis: Intensions in Terms of Turing MachineTuring machineA Turing machine is a theoretical device that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape according to a table of rules. Despite its simplicity, a Turing machine can be adapted to simulate the logic of any computer algorithm, and is particularly useful in explaining the functions of a CPU inside a...
s and On the Vicious Circle in Definitions: Two Studies in Logical Semantics - PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
(Exeter University, 1971), thesis: Contributions to the Theory of Postulate Systems - Associate Professor, University of Otago, 1978
- Professor, University of Otago, 1981
Books
- P. Tichý (1988): The Foundations of Frege's Logic. De Gruyter, Berlin and New York 1988, 333 pp., ISBN 3110116685
- V. Svoboda, B. Jespersen, C. Cheyne (Eds.) (2004): Pavel Tichý's Collected Papers in Logic and Philosophy. Filosofia, Prague and Otago University Press, Dunedin, 901 pp., ISBN 1877276987
External links
- Tichy's biography and bibliography – Transparent Intensional Logic website, Masaryk University, Brno
- Tichy's biography – Mac Tutor Biographies, University of St Andrews, Scotland
- Tichy's biography – University of Otago