[PHILOS-L] Call for Papers – Special Issue of Studia Logica: “The Roads Not Taken”

[Pierluigi Graziani]

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Call for Papers
The Roads Not Taken: Neglected Results and Later Relevance in Logic and the Foundations of Science

Guest Editors
Davide Fazio (University of Teramo)
Pierluigi Graziani (University of Urbino)

Submission Deadline: June 1, 2027

Following the forthcoming symposium, 'The Roads Not Taken: Neglected Results and Later Relevance in Logic and Mathematics,' to be held during the SILFS (Italian Society of Logic and the Philosophy of Sciences) triennial conference at the University of Pavia (June 29 – July 2, 2026), we are pleased to invite submissions for a Special Issue of Studia Logica entitled “The Roads Not Taken: Neglected Results and Later Relevance in Logic and the Foundation of Science.”

This Special Issue aims to bring together high-quality contributions that elucidate a recurrent yet insufficiently theorized phenomenon in the history of logic and mathematics: the delayed recognition of results that were neglected upon their initial introduction. In such instances, what was overlooked was not necessarily flawed or erroneous; rather, it often eluded contemporary comprehension. The dominant paradigms of the era, the available formal resources, and prevailing disciplinary expectations were frequently ill-equipped to register its significance.
The central theme of this Special Issue concerns “roads not taken” as episodes that are theoretically and methodologically illuminating. These cases demonstrate that the history of logic and mathematics is not merely a teleological consolidation of successful ideas. Instead, it encompasses paths that remained marginal, unintelligible, or underdeveloped, despite later developments revealing their latent importance. Such episodes invite us to view the past not only as a linear sequence of achievements but as a fertile field of unrealized or postponed possibilities.
We especially welcome submissions that build on past results that did not receive due attention, and that address problems of current relevance. The Special Issue explicitly encourages contributions that do not merely reconstruct neglected results, but actively integrate them into contemporary research programs.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• New insights on neglected results in mathematical logic and its applications to the foundations of mathematics and physics with demonstrable relevance for current research;
• Reopening of research projects and lines of inquiry that received limited attention in the past but possess applications to topics of current and future relevance also in branches of knowledge such as the methodology of science, cognitive science,  artificial intelligence and (computational) linguistics;
• Investigations in general logic, with specific reference to logical systems that have received great attention in the past and subsequently abandoned, by means of the most up to date methods of contemporary formal logic (Abstract Algebraic Logic, model theory, proof theory, etc.);
• Applications of formal frameworks and techniques introduced in the past to the solution of problems that remain open today.

Submission Procedure:
Submissions must be sent through the Editorial Manager (starting from September 2026). The deadline for submitting full manuscripts is June 1st, 2027.

All submissions must be written in English and are expected to contain new, relevant results of significant interest to the logic community. All manuscripts must comply with the submission guidelines of the journal and will be subject to a rigorous peer-review process in accordance with Studia Logica editorial standards.

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Peer Review Process:
All submissions will undergo a rigorous peer review process in accordance with the journal’s editorial policies.

Further Information
For any inquiries, please contact the Guest Editors:
Davide Fazio (University of Teramo), dfa...@unite.it
Pierluigi Graziani (University of Urbino), pierluigi...@uniurb.it

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