CONTACT: kantdebo at gmail dot com
News.
- On 11-13 February, we’ll host the conference “Mathematical Knowledge: Philosophical and Sociological Perspectives” in Brussels – hope to see some of you there!
- My recent project is about mathematical conventionalism and mathematical practice (joint work with Giorgio Venturi). I’ve presented it in Munich, Wismar, Salzburg, Bergen, and Oxford. Stay tuned for the paper! Reach out, if you’re interested in the draft (submitted).
Research interests.
I work on topics in the philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of science, and social epistemology. My research is driven by philosophical questions, but I am equally interested in empirical studies of mathematical and scientific practice. This dual focus leads me to combine analytic philosophy with empirical investigations of how science and mathematics are actually done.
My current project examines potential connections between mathematical conventionalism and mathematical practice. Previous work has addressed issues such as deep disagreement and peer disagreement within scientific communities, as well as the epistemic role of value judgments in scientific discourse.
Much of my expertise centers on the set-theoretic community.
CV.
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, working on the project “Social Epistemology of Proof” (PI: Prof. Dr. Bart Van Kerkhove). This gives me the opportunity to pursue my research on the social structures that shape mathematical and scientific knowledge.
Until 2025, I’ve been conducting research and teaching at the University of Hamburg. I am also the scientific coordinator of the CIPSH-Chair Diversity of mathematical research cultures and practices (DMRCP), held by Prof. Dr. Benedikt Löwe. DMRCP is a research network bringing together scholars from various disciplines working on the empirical philosophy of mathematics.
In my PhD thesis, I analysed the practical dimension of the independence problem in set theory. I earned my PhD in philosophy from the University of Konstanz, where I was a member of the Forcing Project. The thesis was supervised by Jun.-Prof. Dr. Carolin Antos and Prof. Dr. Karl-Georg Niebergall (Humboldt University Berlin).
During my doctoral studies, I gained valuable insights into the philosophy of set theory and set-theoretic practice through two research stays abroad: in 2019, I was a visiting researcher at the University of California, Irvine (host: Penelope Maddy), and, in 2017, at the Institut d’histoire et de philosophie des sciences et des techniques in Paris (host: Mirna Džamonja).
Prior to that, I studied mathematics – focusing on set theory and logic – at the Free University of Berlin, the Humboldt University, and the University of Potsdam. My studies were supported by the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation).