Jean George Pierre Nicod (1 June 1893, in France – 16 February 1924, in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Switzerland) was a French

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

logician Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure of arg ...

, best known for his work on

propositional logic The propositional calculus is a branch of logic. It is also called propositional logic, statement logic, sentential calculus, sentential logic, or sometimes zeroth-order logic. Sometimes, it is called ''first-order'' propositional logic to contra ...

and induction.

Biography

Nicod's main contribution to

formal logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

was to show that classical

propositional calculus The propositional calculus is a branch of logic. It is also called propositional logic, statement logic, sentential calculus, sentential logic, or sometimes zeroth-order logic. Sometimes, it is called ''first-order'' propositional logic to contra ...

could be axiomatized with only one

axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or ...

- which is now known as Nicod's axiom - and one rule of inference, both formulated using the

Sheffer stroke In Boolean functions and propositional calculus, the Sheffer stroke denotes a logical operation that is equivalent to the negation of the conjunction operation, expressed in ordinary language as "not both". It is also called non-conjunction, ...

as only connective. In

inductive logic Inductive reasoning refers to a variety of methods of reasoning in which the conclusion of an argument is supported not with deductive certainty, but with some degree of probability. Unlike ''deductive'' reasoning (such as mathematical inducti ...

and confirmation theory, he famously proposed Nicod's criterion, according to which a conditional

hypothesis A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess o ...

is confirmed by all and only its positive instances. This principle plays a central role in the derivation of

Carl Hempel Carl Gustav "Peter" Hempel (; ; January 8, 1905 – November 9, 1997) was a German writer, philosopher, logician, and epistemologist. He was a major figure in logical empiricism, a 20th-century movement in the philosophy of science. Hempel ...

raven paradox The raven paradox, also known as Hempel's paradox, Hempel's ravens or, rarely, the paradox of indoor ornithology, is a paradox arising from the question of what constitutes evidence for the truth of a statement. Observing objects that are neith ...

. Nicod died at the age of 30 from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

Legacy

The

Institut Jean Nicod The Institut Jean Nicod (IJN) is an interdisciplinary research center based in Paris, France. Its current director is the philosopher (2017-present), preceded by philosophers François Recanati (2010–2017) and Pierre Jacob (2002–2010). Cre ...

(Paris) — a branch of the French ''Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique'' (

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

) -- is research laboratory at the interface between

cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

and the

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

s — was named in honour of Nicod's memory. Jean Nicod's name is also commemorated by the prestigious Jean Nicod Lectures, which are delivered annually in Paris by a leading

philosopher of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of the mind and its relation to the body and the external world. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues ar ...

or philosophically oriented

cognitive scientist Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

. The lecturer is awarded the

Jean Nicod Prize The Jean Nicod Prize is awarded annually in Paris to a leading philosopher of mind or philosophically oriented cognitive scientist. The lectures are organized by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique as part of its effort to promote int ...

by the

, which sponsors the lectures to develop the field of cognitive science in France.

Main works

*1917, "A Reduction in the Number of Primitive Propositions of Logic", ''Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc.'' 19: 32–41. *1921, "La géométrie des sensations de mouvement", ''Revue de métaphysique et de morale'' 28: 537–43. *1922, "Les tendances philosophiques de M. Bertrand Russell", ''Revue de métaphysique et de morale'' 29: 77–84. *1922, "Mathematical Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics" in ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'': ''The New Volumes, vol. 3'', 12th ed. 874–76. *1923. ''La géométrie dans le monde sensible''. Thèse, Univ. de Paris. *1923. ''Le problème logique de l'induction''. Thèse complémentaire, Univ. de Paris. *1924. "Les relations des valeurs et les relations de sens en logique formelle", ''Revue de métaphysique et de morale'' 31: 467–80. * 1924, "Freedom of Association and Trade Unionism: An Introductory Survey", ''International Labor Review'' 9: 467–80. *1930. ''Foundations of Geometry & Induction, Containing Geometry in a Sensible World and the Logical Problem of Induction'', with prefaces by

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

and André Lalande. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co. Reprinted 2000, London: Routledge. Translated by

Philip P. Wiener Philip Paul Wiener (July 8, 1905 – April 5, 1992) was an American philosopher specializing in pragmatism, Charles S. Peirce, Leibniz, the history and philosophy of science, and the history of ideas. He co-founded the ''Journal of the History of ...

References

External links

Jean Nicod (1893-1924): Biographical note and works
(in French)
Institut Jean Nicod (CNRS)
1893 births 1924 deaths 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis French logicians French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French philosophers Tuberculosis deaths in Switzerland 20th-century French male writers {{france-philosopher-stub