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

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, Switzerland) was a French

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and

logician Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

, best known for his work on

propositional logic Propositional calculus is a branch of logic. It is also called propositional logic, statement logic, sentential calculus, sentential logic, or sometimes zeroth-order logic. It deals with propositions (which can be true or false) and relations b ...

and

induction Induction, Inducible or Inductive may refer to: Biology and medicine * Labor induction (birth/pregnancy) * Induction chemotherapy, in medicine * Induced stem cells, stem cells derived from somatic, reproductive, pluripotent or other cell t ...

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 science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premis ...

was to show that classical

propositional calculus Propositional calculus is a branch of logic. It is also called propositional logic, statement logic, sentential calculus, sentential logic, or sometimes zeroth-order logic. It deals with propositions (which can be true or false) and relations b ...

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 f ...

- 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 logical negation, negation of the logical conjunction, conjunction operation, expressed in ordinary language as "not both". ...

as only connective. In

inductive logic Inductive reasoning is a method of reasoning in which a general principle is derived from a body of observations. It consists of making broad generalizations based on specific observations. Inductive reasoning is distinct from ''deductive'' rea ...

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

hypothesis A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obse ...

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. He is espec ...

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 neither ...

. Nicod died at the age of 30 from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

Legacy

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

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

) -- is research laboratory at the interface between cognitive science and the

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

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 or philosophically oriented cognitive scientist. 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 in ...

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 (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

'': ''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 mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

and

André Lalande André Lalande (26 May 1913 – 19 October 1995) was a French Army officer and general in the Chasseurs Alpins and French Foreign Legion. He fought during the World War II at the heart of the Free French Forces, then in Indochina and Algeria. M ...

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

Philip P. Wiener Philip P. Wiener (July 8, 1905 – April 5, 1992) was an American philosopher who was a specialist on Pragmatism, Charles S. Pierce, Leibnitz, the history and philosophy of science, and the history of ideas. He co-founded the ''Journal of the Hi ...

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