Lorenzo Magnani

Lorenzo Magnani (born 1952), is an Italian philosopher who teaches philosophy of science in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Pavia, where he directs the Computational Philosophy Laboratory. Currently he is a visiting professor at the Sun Yat-sen University in China. In the event of the 50th anniversary of the re-building of the Philosophy Department of Sun Yat-sen University in 2010, an award was given to him to acknowledge his contributions; the department was incorporated into that of Beijing University (Peking University) in 1952, it was rebuilt in 1960 at Sun Yat-sen University.

Magnani's primary research interests are the philosophy of science, logic, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and philosophy of medicine. His historical research has centered on 19th and 20th century geometry and the philosophy of geometry.

Currently he is studying the processes of conceptual innovation and change in science also in the perspective of abductive reasoning. A major objective of his research is to create a working synthesis between epistemological and historical perspectives and investigations of representations and reasoning in cognitive science. Recently he addressed the problem of the relationships between morality and technology and the problem of violence in a philosophical and cognitive perspective.

His previous positions have included visiting researcher (Carnegie Mellon University, 1992; McGill University, 1992–93; University of Waterloo, 1993; and the Georgia Institute of Technology, 1995 and 1998–99) and visiting professor (visiting professor of Philosophy of Science and Theories of Ethics at Georgia Institute of Technology, 1999–2003; Weissman Distinguished Visiting Professor at Baruch College, City University of New York, 2003).

He has directed and directs many international academic programs in collaboration with USA, Chile, EU, and China.

A Doctor Honoris Causa degree was awarded to Lorenzo Magnani by the Senate of the Ştefan cel Mare University, Suceava, Romania. The award ceremony took place at the University Campus on March, 16, 2012.