Preserving Rationality in a Period of Turbulence

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The HSE International Laboratory for Logic, Linguistics and Formal Philosophy studies logic and rationality in a transformed world characterised by a diversity of logical systems and rational agents. The laboratory supports and develops academic ties with Russian and international partners. The HSE News Service spoke with the head of the laboratory, Prof. Elena Dragalina-Chernaya, about its work.

— When was the laboratory established, and on whose initiative?

— The laboratory was founded in 2018 following our success in the international laboratory competition. Its creation was preceded by the activities of the research and educational group in formal philosophy. We are now completing our third three-year cycle of work within the framework of the Centres of Excellence project.

Elena Dragalina-Chernaya

— What are the laboratory’s main areas of activity?

— In our laboratory, philosophers, mathematicians, linguists, and psychologists are united by their interest in logic. The success of our interdisciplinary collaboration is greatly supported by a broad understanding of the objectives of modern logic—not only as a theory of correct reasoning, but also as a theory of informational interaction among non-ideal agents with resource and cognitive limitations.

— Which of these areas do you consider the most promising?

— Without question, the most promising directions of our work are the development of non-classical logical systems, the study of their metalogical properties, and the assessment of the new status of pluralistic logic within the universe of modern science and technologies connected with artificial intelligence.

— You study subjects at the intersection of several disciplines: philosophy, mathematics, linguistics, and psychology. How do you manage to combine them? Are these parallel studies, or are they more interdisciplinary in nature?

— Quite often, these are parallel studies in which we exchange heuristics and methods. Logic employs the apparatus of mathematics, while philosophical insights, in turn, stimulate the development of mathematical theories. In the interdisciplinary research we also conduct, problems arising in logic are addressed both through the methods of formal sciences and through linguistic and psychological experiments.

— The concept of ‘formal philosophy’ may sound like an ivory tower to many people. Could you explain in simpler terms what you and your colleagues do?

— Immanuel Kant referred to logic as formal philosophy. Today, it has developed into a respected field extending not only to logical methods, but also to the methods of other formal disciplines—game theory, probability theory, complexity theory, and decision theory—applied to traditional philosophical problems of truth, certainty, normativity, and rationality.

By developing the tradition of classical philosophy, which once established the disciplinary framework for other sciences, formal philosophy defends philosophy’s disciplinary dignity within the modern system of knowledge. In my view, denying philosophy scientific status is the result of narrow ideas about the boundaries of science, which is characterised not only by empirical verifiability and practical utility, but also by rigour of argumentation, the capacity for extrapolation and paradox resolution, and the universal scientific significance of the problems it addresses. Formal philosophy possesses all of these qualities to the fullest extent.

— Is your work focused primarily on applied or fundamental research? How difficult is it to maintain the balance between them?

— Our work is mainly focused on fundamental research, but we also develop computer programs and educational resources based on it, including game-based tools for teaching logic. For us, applied research is a natural continuation of fundamental inquiry.

— How actively do you use artificial intelligence in your work?

— If artificial intelligence is understood broadly, as formalisation and computer implementation, then it has long been a reliable partner for logicians. However, the explosive development of artificial intelligence in recent years has created new challenges for logicians and philosophers, for whom it is becoming not only a tool but also an independent subject of research. It is precisely the philosophical questions connected with the progress of digital technologies that seem to me most significant today. In particular, the development of generative artificial intelligence systems, combined with the pluralism of logical systems and the emergence of computational philosophy before our very eyes, poses the classical philosophical questions of what rationality and agency are—and the logical questions of what reasoning and related cognitive procedures are—in entirely new ways.

— Your colleagues have written an article about the possible use of neural networks in psychology and the problems associated with this. Can we now answer who the actor is in this digital theatre of the absurd?

— It is certainly not a one-person show. The study of the principles and dynamics of interaction between human and non-human agents in the formulation and solution of scientific problems is a fascinating interdisciplinary challenge, the significance of which for the future of academic science is difficult to overestimate.

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— Which achievements of your colleagues are you most proud of?

— Above all, I am proud that over the years of our laboratory’s work, we have become a leading Russian and international centre for formal philosophy. This institutional achievement would not have been possible without the scientific results produced by our staff in constructing modal, dynamic, and multi-agent logical systems, proving their metalogical, computational, and complexity properties, and clarifying their epistemological status.

— With which HSE divisions and other research centres do you collaborate?

— For the past two years, we have been involved in a joint project with linguistic laboratories entitled ‘Linguistic and Cognitive Diversity in Formal Models, Computer Tools and Educational Resources,’ led by George Moroz. Our primary task within this project is to study cognitive diversity, including that shaped by linguistic factors. Since 2023, we have also worked with psychologists on developing logical-cognitive models of reasoning. This project, supported by the Russian Science Foundation, has now concluded, but we hope to preserve and further develop the interdisciplinary connections that have been established.

We should also certainly mention the project we are implementing under the International Academic Cooperation of HSE University programme with the Centre for Logic, Epistemology and the History of Science at the University of Campinas in São Paulo, Brazil. In January 2026, we held a Russian–Brazilian colloquium dedicated to World Logic Day, focusing on the logic of reasoning about fictional and abstract objects. Then, at the end of March, our laboratory hosted the spring school ‘Logic, Linguistics and Formal Philosophy,’ with participation from Brazilian and Indian colleagues, a significant part of whose research is devoted to the history of logic in Russia. Participants in our joint project, Profs Itala D’Ottaviano and Evandro Gomes, delivered lectures on the contributions of Russian logicians and philosophers such as Ivan Orlov, Dmitry Bochvar, and Father Pavel Florensky to paraconsistent logic, which is currently being actively developed in Brazil. Among the laboratory’s future plans is the publication of articles by our international partners in a special English-language issue of Philosophy. Journal of the Higher School of Economics devoted to logic and formal philosophy.

— How are the results of your scientific work applied in the educational process?

— The range of logic courses taught by our laboratory staff within the philosophy bachelor’s programme is quite extensive. These include logic, philosophy of logic, the foundations of argumentation theory, and research seminars in logic and analytic philosophy. Our colleagues also work with students from the HSE School of Linguistics, as well as the faculties of mathematics and computer science. It is difficult to separate our research from our teaching; it is no coincidence that laboratory assistants regularly win prizes in academic research competitions each year.

— How actively are undergraduate and postgraduate students involved in the laboratory’s work?

— From their very first year of undergraduate study, students participate in the laboratory’s academic and research seminars, and some become research assistants as early as their second year. The academic level and dedication of our students and postgraduate researchers consistently make a strong impression on both Russian and international visitors to the laboratory.

— What do you see as the ideal balance between experienced, established scholars and younger researchers?

— It is difficult to offer a precise formula, but we always have more research assistants than staff members with advanced academic degrees. I am very pleased about this, because in modern academia students often surpass professors in many competencies, and constant communication within the laboratory gives us the opportunity to learn from our own students.

— Your laboratory includes many full-time and affiliated international researchers. How do you manage to maintain and develop international academic cooperation?

— It is not easy. Today, we are largely focused on Latin America, working on joint projects with colleagues from the University of Campinas while gradually expanding cooperation to other Brazilian universities. A graduate of HSE’s doctoral programme, Jorge Luis Mendez Martinez, remains a member of the laboratory while currently living in Mexico. Last year, Indian mathematician Sayantan Roy joined the laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher, and with his assistance we are developing partnerships with India’s strong schools of logic, philosophy, and mathematics. Prof. Elia Zardini of the Complutense University of Madrid, our Chief Research Fellow, also remains actively involved in our scientific and academic projects. In addition, leading logicians from the United States and European countries regularly participate online in our seminars and conferences.

I am convinced that the preservation and development of international cooperation specifically in the field of logic is no coincidence. Since its very origins, logic has viewed the world as a polycentric universe of equal citizens endowed with reason and the capacity for rational communication. Logic is the foundation of rationality, and we are doing everything in our power to ensure its triumph in today’s turbulent world.