web.archive.org

Cournot Foundation

The Augustin Cournot Program for Probabilisms

“The actions of intelligent and moral beings cannot be explained, given the state of our knowledge, and we can boldly say that they will never be explained by the mechanics of geometricians. They do not, therefore, fall within the domain of numbers by reason of geometry or mechanics, but inasmuch as the notions of combination, chance, cause and randomness are superior in abstraction to geometry and mechanics, and can be applied to the events of nature, to those in the intellectual and moral realms, as well as to phenomena produced by the motion of inert matter.”

Exposition de la théorie des chances et des probabilités, 1843

 programme_fondation_cournot

PROGRAM

The Cournot Foundation has launched the Augustin Cournot Program for Probabilisms to support the development and use of probability across disciplines. By creating an interdisciplinary platform, the Program aims to stimulate and accompany research in the mathematics of randomness, as well as in the physical, biological and computer sciences. The Program encourages collaboration and discussion between the disciplines of probability theory and the sciences that have adopted probability or developed its applications. The Foundation has also called upon the social sciences to help shed light on the issues and applications of probability: What does it bring to a discipline? What are its spin-offs?

The Cournot Foundation contributes to the Cournot Centre, whose activities served as a springboard for the Program. Since 2000, in the theoretical tradition of Augustin Cournot (1801—1877), the Centre has dedicated its work to the field of economics, where Cournot's intuitions developed under multiple forms. Recently, it has focused also on Cournot's lesser known intuitions in probability theory. Its multidisciplinary seminar is putting into perspective the progressive development of probability in the sciences over the twentieth century, and particularly its advance in the last decade. From physics to population genetics, probability has spread to many disciplines, such as chemistry, ecology, epidemiology, computer science, and molecular biology, where it has had the greatest impact in recent years. The Foundation is leading the way along the new paths that probability continues to open.

AIMS

Build a transdisciplinary platform and interface for developing concepts

• What is a question and what is an answer from a stochastic point of view?
• Which categories are stabilized? What are the conditions of validity?
• What can be generalized?
• What is a simulation?
• Where do the disciplines intersect?
• The probabilistic panoply varies by discipline: What correspondence can be found between the world of figures and that of numbers?


Organize interdisciplinary discussion

The rise of probability theory in the sciences is modifying the foundations of normative discourse, which can no longer be centered on the mean.

• How can stochastic issues be made more understandable to a broader audience?
• How can the consequences of a non-deterministic approach be presented?
• How can answers to questions about the use of probability be formulated?
• What is the new decision-making environment?

DONATIONS

To participate in advancing the theory and practice of probability and economics, donate to the Cournot Foundation and benefit from tax reductions.

Individuals, companies and foundations residing in France or in the USA can make direct donations to the public charity representing the Cournot Foundation in France (Fondation de France) or in the USA (Friends of Fondation de France).

To make a gift or to learn more about the Cournot Foundation and its activities, please contact:

Boston Office: +1 978 394 9269
Paris Office: +33 1 44 16 71 80
augustin@cournotfoundation.org