Aims

The British Logic Colloquium exists to support, promote, and foster the study of logic (especially, but not exclusively, formal and mathematical logic) in Britain. It embraces diverse aspects of logic, from the studies of traditional formal systems to philosophical logic and the modern applications in artificial intelligence, computer science and linguistics; above all, it aims to encourage communication between logicians working in related fields. Its constitution can be found here.

History

The BLC grew out of fairly regular meetings of British logicians, first organized by Professor A. N. Prior in the 1950s. The first steps towards formal organization were taken at a meeting in Leicester in 1965. The BLC was formally constituted in 1977, and registered as a charity in 1978. Dr Robin Gandy was the first President; he was succeeded by Professors John Shepherdson, Wilfrid Hodges, Stan Wainer, Jeff Paris, Martin Hyland, Dugald MacPherson and Philip Welch. It is managed by a Committee.

Activities

The BLC sponsors large international meetings (e.g. the Logic Colloquia [European meetings of the ASL held in Leeds (1997), Keele (1993), Hull (1986), Manchester (1984), Leeds (1979)). It also supports occasional smaller logic meetings. Proceedings of BLC-supported meetings have been published for many years and form an important record of the research activities and development of Logic in the UK. For details of these meetings, see here. The BLC organizes a national logic meeting each year with both invited and contributed talks in all areas of logic. For more details about these meetings, see here.

The BLC has three representatives on the British National Committee for Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, the national body responsible for communication with the Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science. Details of the committee and of the LMPS are available at the BLC members-area website. A one-page summary of the aims and activies of the BLC can be found in its constitution document.

Membership

Membership is free to PhD students; otherwise, the annual subscription is 10 pounds p.a. The online application form is available here. Annual payment of the membership fee should be made via standing order (recommended date 31st of December). The BLC bank account and sort code are detailed in the online registration form. The BLC distributes to members a newsletter by electronic mail, giving information about forthcoming meetings and conferences, and other news of interest to logicians. For past newsletters, see here (members only).