This bulletin was published in Synthese Volume 14 No. 4 (1962) 330-340, DOI 10.1007/BF00869315.
The meeting was called to order by the President, S. C. Kleene, at 2:20 p.m.
The President asked the Secretary to proceed at once with the verification of delegates. The following delegates responded. (The category of each national member is indicated in parentheses.)
In addition, all members of the Executive Committee were present: S. C. Kleene, President; K. Ajdukiewicz, Vice President; Hans Freudenthal, Treasurer; Patrick Suppes, Secretary.
It was moved by Mr. Rosser that Austria and Roumania be accepted for membership in Category A. Neither nation had a delegate present at the General Assembly. The motion carried.
Mr. Suppes noted that at the General Assembly of August 29, 1960, Sweden should not have been included in the roll call (Item (2) of the minutes of that General Assembly); Sweden was not a member. He also noted that the report (included in Item (3) of the minutes) that the U.S.S.R. had paid dues for 1959 subsequently turned out to be false, the dues sent to Mr. Freudenthal by the U.S.S.R. being found to have been intended for the other Division of the Union (History of Science); the President ruled the action of that General Assembly in admitting the U.S.S.R. to be thereby nullified. With these two additions, the minutes of that General Assembly were approved.
Mr. Kleene began by reviewing briefly the history of the Union, and then asked that respects be paid to the memory of three individuals who had played influential roles in the establishment of the Union and who had died since the last General Assembly. A formal tribute was paid by the Assembly to Raymond Baier, Albert Chatelet and Robert Feys. Mr. Kleene then discussed the steps that had been taken since the last General Assembly to establish closer relations with the other Division (History of Science) of the Union. He reported on negotiations with the Division of History of Science on the revision of Statutes, an item which was taken up subsequently by the Assembly (see item (15)). He particularly emphasized the importance of holding a joint colloquium with the Division of History of Science in the reasonably near future. He mentioned the high level of scientific activity that has obtained during the period 1960-62, and also pointed out that the Division was now financially solvent, although in the future the Division will probably need more funds apart from the ICSU subvention.
Mr. Suppes reported on the scientific activities of the Division since the last General Assembly on August 24, 1960. This report is given as an appendix to these minutes.
Mr. Freudenthal reviewed the difficulties encountered in establishing the exact status of the financial affairs of the Division, but emphasized that the current situation seems quite satisfactory. His report, as slightly amended in the course of the meeting, is given as an appendix to these minutes.
Mr. Suppes reported that Italy is the only national member that has been totally inactive for the past three years. It was informally recommended that the new Executive Committee take steps to encourage the more active participation of the Italian National Committee.
Mr. Suppes reported on correspondence with the International Society for Significs, the main conclusion of which is that the Society is not at present in a financial position to pay its annual dues. On the other hand, he indicated the willingness of the Society to consider publishing in its journal Synthese, records and notices of the Division. It was moved and passed that the Executive Committee be empowered to negotiate with the Society for publication of the records of the Division in lieu of the payment of annual dues.
Mr. Kleene reported that it was recommended by a majority vote of the Council of the Division that the new unit of dues be set at $50 per unit. Mr. Destouches spoke about the history of the dues and stated that they were originally low before the Union became a member of ICSU, because of the difficulty of national organizations' finding a source of funds. He noted that with the present formal affiliation with ICSU, the arrangement for payment of dues by most countries is relatively a simple matter, and he urged the adoption of the new rate per unit recommended by the Council. Mr. Bar-Hillel made and Mr. Tarski seconded the motion that the unit dues be set at $50 for the next three years. The motion carried.
In the course of the discussion of the annual dues Mr. Freudenthal mentioned that for some countries there were difficulties in paying in dollars and that the new rate of dues would be more acceptable to them if part of that payment could be made in a currency that is not freely exchangeable. He also emphasized that this arrangement was now common within ICSU.
Mr. Freudenthal then moved that the Executive Committee be empowered to permit a country on application and for sufficient cause to pay a part, not exceeding fifty percent, of its dues in a specified currency other than dollars. The motion carried.
As previously agreed under item (2) of the agenda, Austria and Roumania were placed in category A. Mr. Bar-Hillel moved that the General Assembly advise the Council to urge the national committees of Germany and Great Britain to place themselves in category B. The motion carried.
Mr. Rosser moved that the number of votes of international members be left unchanged. The motion carried.
Mr. Tarski moved that the percentage increase in the dues of international members be the same as the percentage increase of dues of national members. The motion was passed, and on this basis the new dues of the International Academy, the Institute for the Unity of Science and the International Society for Significs are each $50 per year; the new dues of the Association for Symbolic Logic are $400 annually.
Mr. Montague moved that the Executive Committee be delegated to make the budget determination for the period extending to the next General Assembly. The motion carried.
The Executive Committee recommended the following slate of officers for the three-year period, 1963-1965: G. H. von Wright, President; L. Kalmár, Vice-President; P. Suppes, Secretary; and H. Freudenthal, Treasurer. There were no additional nominations, and so these new officers were elected by unanimous vote.
The Executive Committee nominated the following six persons as candidates for the four positions as assessors: Y. Akizuki, R. B. Braithwaite, M. Bunge, Costa de Beauregard, P. Lorenzen and A. Mostowski. In addition, D. Lacombe was nominated by the French delegation. The president proposed, and the Assembly agreed, that each delegate should vote for at most four of the seven nominated assessors. Mr. Hintikka and Mr. Montague were appointed as tellers. The results of the first ballot were: Akizuki 25; Braithwaite 23; Bunge 14; Costa de Beauregard 3; Lorenzen 25; Lacombe 23; Mostowski 30.
Because Braithwaite and Lacombe were tied for the fourth position a runoff ballot was held, on which 21 votes were cast for Braithwaite and 14 for Mr. Lacombe. On the basis of these two ballots, Akizuki, Braithwaite, Lorenzen and Mostowski were declared elected as the four Assessors of the Council for the period 1963-1965, with Lacombe, Bunge and Costa de Beauregard as successive alternates.
The proposals for the modifications of the Statutes jointly presented to both Divisions by the U.S. National Committee (as re-edited April 16, 1962) were reviewed by Mr. Kleene. These proposals had been distributed in April to all members of the Division, and there were no suggested changes from the floor. Mr. Tarski moved, and it was seconded by Mr. Bar-Hillel, that the proposed modifications be accepted as they stand. The motion was passed unanimously.
Mr. Rosser moved that the next General Assembly be held in 1965. The motion was passed. The president then called for invitations to be heard for holding the next International Congress. Mr. Bar-Hillel extended the formal invitation of Israel to hold the next Congress in Jerusalem in either 1964 or 1965. Mr. de Bouvère then issued a similar invitation of the Netherlands to hold the next Congress in Amsterdam. Mr. Mostowski then stated in discussion that he was in favor in having only colloquia because of the large size of Congresses. After some discussion, it was moved to have no Congress for the next three years. Mr. Bar-Hillel moved to table this motion. The motion to table, seconded by Mr. Kalmár, was carried 25 to 4. Mrs. Marcus then moved that the question of holding future Congresses be considered by the Executive Committee and that the Executive Committee prepare a recommendation to be made to the next General Assembly, and to be circulated to the members of the Division prior to that General Assembly. The motion carried.
Mr. Tarski then moved that the next Congress be held in 1964. The motion carried 21 to 8. The President called for a vote on the two invitations to hold the next Congress. The invitation from Israel was accepted by a vote of 18 to 11.
It was then moved to reconsider holding the General Assembly in 1965. The motion to reconsider was passed, and it was subsequently moved and passed that the General Assembly be held in 1964 in conjunction with the International Congress.
The request from the Association for Symbolic Logic that the Division co-sponsor a symposium on models planned for June-July, 1963, in Berkeley, California, was approved. A request of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science that tentative approval be given to a symposium in the area of philosophy of science to be held in England in 1963 or 1964 was approved. The possibility of holding a symposium in Mexico City in September 1963 in conjunction with the International Congress of Philosophy to be held there at that time was discussed. Because no formal correspondence has as yet taken place between the organizers of the Congress in Mexico City and the Executive Committee, no formal action was taken, but it was left to Mr. Suppes and Mr. Tarski to investigate further the possibilities. The additional possibilities of colloquia in France, Germany and Japan during the period, 1963-1965, were also discussed, but no formal action was taken. The Executive Committee was memorialized to pursue with the Executive Committee of the Division of History of Science the possibilities for a joint colloquium.
Mr. Tarski asked that the agenda for the next General Assembly be prepared in greater detail than the present agenda had been for circulation prior to the meeting itself. This suggestion was then formally approved by the President.
Mr. Tarski proposed a motion of appreciation to the outgoing Executive Committee, and the motion was passed unanimously.
Mr. Church moved that the General Assembly stand adjourned. The motion carried.
[to be added — WH December 2009]
Executive Committee
Section Chairmen
The Program Committee consisted of the Section Chairmen together with the Executive Committee.