Title: A tour of logical instrumentalism 

Abstract:

Logical instrumentalism, broadly defined, is the position that holds that logic should be understood as a tool or instrument, designed or engineered with a specific purpose in mind, that allows one to achieve certain goals. In this talk I will consider this position in more detail. I will show various instrumentalist proposals in the literature, both recent and more historical, with a focus on some proposals put forth in the debate on anti-exceptionalism about logic, and I will compare the position with other positions in the philosophy of logic. In doing so, I aim to get more clear what logical instrumentalism can and cannot be, and what its challenges and promises are.