Course: Introduction to Category Theory for Non-Mathematicians

This course offers a philosophically oriented introduction to category theory. Originating in 1945 as an alternative to set-theoretic foundations, category theory defines mathematical objects not by their internal composition but—consistent with what may be called a structuralist spirit—by the network of relations they maintain with other objects of the same kind. Participants will engage with the key concepts of category theory —categories, functors, natural transformations, limits, colimits, and more—and explore their implications for philosophical debates concerning equality, identity, and difference, as well as the relevance of category theory to mathematical structuralism and to the philosophy of abstraction. Bridging abstract mathematics and philosophical reflection, the course fosters interdisciplinary dialogue across the formal and natural sciences, the humanities and social sciences, and the arts.

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PRACTICAL INFO

  • DATE
    13 April, 2026
  • LOCATION
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    Ghent
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  • TARGET GROUP
    PhD postdoc
  • LANGUAGE EVENT
    ENGLISH

ONZE UNIVERSITEITEN