From Brouwer to Hilbert
From Brouwer to Hilbert

Author: Paolo Mancosu

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 9780195096316

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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 inproof 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 articleshave 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 necessaryhistorical 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 ToHilbert 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.

The Autonomy of Mathematical Knowledge
The Autonomy of Mathematical Knowledge

Author: Curtis Franks

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-10-08

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 0521514371

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This study reconstructs, analyses and re-evaluates the programme of influential mathematical thinker David Hilbert, presenting it in a different light.

Internal Logic
Internal Logic

Author: Y. Gauthier

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2002-06-30

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9781402006890

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Internal logic is the logic of content. The content is here arithmetic and the emphasis is on a constructive logic of arithmetic (arithmetical logic). Kronecker's general arithmetic of forms (polynomials) together with Fermat's infinite descent is put to use in an internal consistency proof. The view is developed in the context of a radical arithmetization of mathematics and logic and covers the many-faceted heritage of Kronecker's work, which includes not only Hilbert, but also Frege, Cantor, Dedekind, Husserl and Brouwer. The book will be of primary interest to logicians, philosophers and mathematicians interested in the foundations of mathematics and the philosophical implications of constructivist mathematics. It may also be of interest to historians, since it covers a fifty-year period, from 1880 to 1930, which has been crucial in the foundational debates and their repercussions on the contemporary scene.

Hilbert's Fifth Problem and Related Topics
Hilbert's Fifth Problem and Related Topics

Author: Terence Tao

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 2014-07-18

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 147041564X

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In the fifth of his famous list of 23 problems, Hilbert asked if every topological group which was locally Euclidean was in fact a Lie group. Through the work of Gleason, Montgomery-Zippin, Yamabe, and others, this question was solved affirmatively; more generally, a satisfactory description of the (mesoscopic) structure of locally compact groups was established. Subsequently, this structure theory was used to prove Gromov's theorem on groups of polynomial growth, and more recently in the work of Hrushovski, Breuillard, Green, and the author on the structure of approximate groups. In this graduate text, all of this material is presented in a unified manner, starting with the analytic structural theory of real Lie groups and Lie algebras (emphasising the role of one-parameter groups and the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff formula), then presenting a proof of the Gleason-Yamabe structure theorem for locally compact groups (emphasising the role of Gleason metrics), from which the solution to Hilbert's fifth problem follows as a corollary. After reviewing some model-theoretic preliminaries (most notably the theory of ultraproducts), the combinatorial applications of the Gleason-Yamabe theorem to approximate groups and groups of polynomial growth are then given. A large number of relevant exercises and other supplementary material are also provided.

L.E.J. Brouwer – Topologist, Intuitionist, Philosopher
L.E.J. Brouwer – Topologist, Intuitionist, Philosopher

Author: Dirk van Dalen

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-04

Total Pages: 877

ISBN-13: 1447146166

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Dirk van Dalen’s biography studies the fascinating life of the famous Dutch mathematician and philosopher Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer. Brouwer belonged to a special class of genius; complex and often controversial and gifted with a deep intuition, he had an unparalleled access to the secrets and intricacies of mathematics. Most mathematicians remember L.E.J. Brouwer from his scientific breakthroughs in the young subject of topology and for the famous Brouwer fixed point theorem. Brouwer’s main interest, however, was in the foundation of mathematics which led him to introduce, and then consolidate, constructive methods under the name ‘intuitionism’. This made him one of the main protagonists in the ‘foundation crisis’ of mathematics. As a confirmed internationalist, he also got entangled in the interbellum struggle for the ending of the boycott of German and Austrian scientists. This time during the twentieth century was turbulent; nationalist resentment and friction between formalism and intuitionism led to the Mathematische Annalen conflict ('The war of the frogs and the mice'). It was here that Brouwer played a pivotal role. The present biography is an updated revision of the earlier two volume biography in one single book. It appeals to mathematicians and anybody interested in the history of mathematics in the first half of the twentieth century.

The Hilbert Challenge
The Hilbert Challenge

Author: Jeremy Gray

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780198506515

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David Hilbert was arguably the leading mathematician of his generation. He was among the few mathematicians who could reshape mathematics, and was able to because he brought together an impressive technical power and mastery of detail with a vision of where the subject was going and how it should get there. This was the unique combination which he brought to the setting of his famous 23 Problems. Few problems in mathematics have the status of those posed by David Hilbert in 1900. Mathematicians have made their reputations by solving individual ones such as Fermat's last theorem, and several remain unsolved including the Riemann hypotheses, which has eluded all the great minds of this century. A hundred years on, it is timely to take a fresh look at the problems, the man who set them, and the reasons for their lasting impact on the mathematics of the twentieth century. In this fascinating new book, Jeremy Gray and David Rowe consider what has made this the pre-eminent collection of problems in mathematics, what they tell us about what drives mathematicians, and the nature of reputation, influence and power in the world of modern mathematics. The book is written in a clear and lively manner and will appeal both to the general reader with an interest in mathematics and to mathematicians themselves.

Logicism, Intuitionism, and Formalism
Logicism, Intuitionism, and Formalism

Author: Sten Lindström

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-11-25

Total Pages: 509

ISBN-13: 1402089260

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This anthology reviews the programmes in the foundations of mathematics from the classical period and assesses their possible relevance for contemporary philosophy of mathematics. A special section is concerned with constructive mathematics.

The Philosophy of Mathematical Practice
The Philosophy of Mathematical Practice

Author: Paolo Mancosu

Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand

Published: 2008-06-19

Total Pages: 460

ISBN-13: 0199296456

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There is an urgent need in philosophy of mathematics for new approaches which pay closer attention to mathematical practice. This book will blaze the trail: it offers philosophical analyses of important characteristics of contemporary mathematics and of many aspects of mathematical activity which escape purely formal logical treatment.

Elementary Concepts of Topology
Elementary Concepts of Topology

Author: Paul Alexandroff

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2012-08-13

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 0486155064

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Concise work presents topological concepts in clear, elementary fashion, from basics of set-theoretic topology, through topological theorems and questions based on concept of the algebraic complex, to the concept of Betti groups. Includes 25 figures.

Truth, Proof and Infinity
Truth, Proof and Infinity

Author: P. Fletcher

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-06-29

Total Pages: 477

ISBN-13: 9401736162

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Constructive mathematics is based on the thesis that the meaning of a mathematical formula is given, not by its truth-conditions, but in terms of what constructions count as a proof of it. However, the meaning of the terms `construction' and `proof' has never been adequately explained (although Kriesel, Goodman and Martin-Löf have attempted axiomatisations). This monograph develops precise (though not wholly formal) definitions of construction and proof, and describes the algorithmic substructure underlying intuitionistic logic. Interpretations of Heyting arithmetic and constructive analysis are given. The philosophical basis of constructivism is explored thoroughly in Part I. The author seeks to answer objections from platonists and to reconcile his position with the central insights of Hilbert's formalism and logic. Audience: Philosophers of mathematics and logicians, both academic and graduate students, particularly those interested in Brouwer and Hilbert; theoretical computer scientists interested in the foundations of functional programming languages and program correctness calculi.