In memory of  Karl Popper (1902-1994). This workshop is part of the 8th World Congress on Universal Logic, that will take place in Cusco, Peru, December 9-14, 2025.  

Organizer

Keynote Speaker

Call for Papers

This workshop explores the intersections between logic and political reason, from the basic elements of argumentation to political paradoxes. It is intended to analyse how logic can be used and manipulated in the political sphere.

It will bring together logicians, philosophers and political theorists to discuss the limits of rationality in contexts of power, belief and persuasion, as well as the role of critical thinking vis-à-vis ideology, propaganda and post-truth.

Topics may include, but are not restricted to, the following questions:

• THE ROLE OF THE LOGICIAN AS A CITIZEN: Is there a relationship between the political position of a philosopher and the logic that he proposes? Must there be some relationship or not?  Should logicians, as such, be politically active and militant? Can the work of  the logician c be truly apolitical? Does logic need democracy to survive or could it develop freely even in a dictatorship? Should logic help to combat social injustice? And if it were true that democracy is required and that it fights against injustice, would the most logical thing to expect be liberal and/or left-wing?

•  LOGIC, IDEOLOGY AND POLITICS: What does it mean to say that someone is right or left  wing? Are there purely liberal or purely communitarian personal political positions? To whom do political extremism appeal? Are people extremist or do they really tend to be moderate? What is your opinion on political issues? We invite you to answer a questionnaire based on the chart of Nolan. to know if you have a pure political position or not

• FALLACIES IN POLITICS: Knowing that politicians use arguments like ad hominem, ad baculum, ad populum, ad misericordiam, false dichotomy, among others, to manipulate and persuade us asks: Who are the guilty when in a political campaign abound pure fallacies? Politicians for cheating? Citizens for not being educated? Teachers, journalists, entrepreneurs, law enforcement, foreigners, powers, the law or who? 

• POPPER'S POLTIICAL PARADOXES: Not only the fallacies motivate us the political issue but also the paradoxes: Should a democracy allow anti-democratic forces to use their own mechanisms to end it? Should a tolerant society also tolerate bigots, even if that tolerance threatens to destroy it?

• POST-TRUTH: If what you like, coincides with certain beliefs and has more popularity will be more credible on social networks, does the use of critical thinking still make sense? Would it not be more appropriate to adapt, renounce critical thinking and rather use the counterpart’s own digital weapons?

Submit a one page  abstract by November 1st,  2025 to   to   rmora@unfv.edu.pe

Notifications of acceptance and rejection within days of submission.

Duration of contributing talks is 30mn including discussion. There will be a round table at the end of the workshop with the participation of all the speakers.

Accepted contributors will be invited to submit a full paper for inclusion in a volume on Logic and Polticis edited by the organizer following the workshop.