Research

The DFG project investigates and re-evaluates women's contributions to quantum physics and its philosophical interpretation. Although Grete Hermann (1901–1984) has been a key figure in the development of quantum physics, historians, physicists, and philosophers have only provided an incomplete picture of her work to date. This project aims to close this gap and contributes to the initiative "Women in the History of Quantum Physics (WiHQP)", by recovering  numerous female physicists from diverse backgrounds who have helped to advance the field of quantum physics in different ways. By focusing on lesser-known figures and introducing a gender perspective to the historical study of physics, we intend to challenge conventional, male-dominated narratives that often perpetuate the masculine image of the field.

Dates: 1/03/2025–28/02/2028

Founding organization: DFG

Key topics: history and philosophy of quantum physics, women's studies, gender and diversity

Partners:

Women in the History of Quantum Physics (WiHQP)

DPG Working Group on Equal Opportunities (AKC)

Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists

Philosophical-Political Academy (PPA)

In recent years, the question of what role gestures and diagrams play for the teaching and learning of mathematics has increasingly become the focus of research under the heading of “embodied mathematics”. A number of studies at the intersection of sociology, linguistics, psychology and gender studies have investigated the complex interplay of visual communication and gestures, bodily performance and situational interaction from a gender-sensitive perspective. The aim of our project is to analyse gestures and diagrams not in the situational context of the classroom, but in the philosophy and history of logic and mathematics. We are entering new territory with this project. For the technical language communication of mathematics and logic ethnographic, semiotic and semantic aspects of gestures and diagrams have not been examined so far, at least not from a gender perspective. We aim to provide answers to the tension that mathematical and logical knowledge, on the one hand, is considered true, objective, reliable and gender-neutral, and, on the other hand, was and is plural and diverse as a cultural practice shaped by human concerns. [Link]

Project leaders: PD Dr. Jens Lemanski (Universität Tübingen), Dr. Reetu Bhattacharjee (Universität Münster), Dr. Andrea Reichenberger (TUM)

Dates: 1/09/2025–31/08/2025

Founding organization: Priority Programme “Visual Communication. Theoretical, Empirical, and Applied Perspectives (ViCom)” (SPP 2392)

Key topics: theoretical philosophy, general and domain-specific teaching and learning, applied linguistics, computational linguistics, mathematics, history of science

This conference explores the current status and future potential of the philosophy of mathematics in Germany. Its central aim is to strengthen the field’s position within German philosophy and to foster deeper connections with other areas of philosophical inquiry. By bringing together researchers from across the country, the event hopes to contribute to a broader reflection on the disciplinary and interdisciplinary roles of philosophy of mathematics today.

The workshop will take place from 27–29 August 2025 at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hannover, and is supported by the Volkswagen Foundation as part of its Scoping Workshops funding line. This initiative is designed to encourage the advancement of emerging or reconfiguring research fields and to promote scholarly community-building.

The event is organized by Carolin Antos (University of Konstanz), Deborah Kant (University of Hamburg), Andrea Reichenberger (Technical University of Munich), and Tabea Rohr (University of Jena).

More details can be found on the Scoping Workshop website. The conference is also an initiative of the newly established Working Group on Philosophy of Mathematics within the German Society for Philosophy (DGPhil), with additional information published in the DGPhil Newsletter (Issue 66).