2019 Theses Bachelor's

The Beautiful Scheme: Christine Ladd-Franklin and the Expansion of Logical Methodology

Karp, Hadassah

Christine Ladd-Franklin (1847-1930) was an American mathematician, philosopher, and psychologist who worked and published in disparate academic fields right during the solidification of distinct disciplinary lines. Ladd-Franklin worked to create procedures that could systematically apply mathematical concepts to philosophical and social questions. In developing an expansive logical system, she hoped to provide philosophers with a clear methodology for reaching conclusions. In this paper, I draw on archival documents as well as academic papers to argue that she serves as a model for careful barrier-breaking and interdisciplinarianism in a period of rapidly changing perspectives and technologies.