From Brouwer To Hilbert: The Debate on the Foundations of Mathematics in the 1920s - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195096320 ISBN 13: 9780195096323

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1997

Synopsis

From Brouwer To Hilbert: The Debate on the Foundations of Mathematics in the 1920s offers the first comprehensive introduction to the most exciting period in the foundation of mathematics in the twentieth century. The 1920s witnessed the seminal foundational work of Hilbert and Bernays in proof theory, Brouwer's refinement of intuitionistic mathematics, and Weyl's predicativist approach to the foundations of analysis. This impressive collection makes available the first English translations of twenty-five central articles by these important contributors and many others. The articles have been translated for the first time from Dutch, French, and German, and the volume is divided into four sections devoted to (1) Brouwer, (2) Weyl, (3) Bernays and Hilbert, and (4) the emergence of intuitionistic logic. Each section opens with an introduction which provides the necessary historical and technical context for understanding the articles. Although most contemporary work in this field takes its start from the groundbreaking contributions of these major figures, a good, scholarly introduction to the area was not available until now. Unique and accessible, From Brouwer To Hilbert will serve as an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate courses in the philosophy of mathematics, and will also be an invaluable resource for philosophers, mathematicians, and interested non-specialists.

About this title

About the Author:

Paolo Mancosu is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley. His main interests are in mathematical logic and philosophy of mathematics. He is the author of Philosophy of Mathematics and Mathematical Practice in the Seventeenth Century (OUP, 1996).

Review:

"A first-rate contribution to the field."--Mircea Dumitru, Tulane University

"This is an extremely useful collection which makes possible a good course on Intuitionist Logic and Mathematics."--Mary Tiles, University of Hawaii at Manoa

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0195096320
• ISBN 13: 9780195096323
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352
• Editor: Mancosu Paolo