Reflections on Kurt Gödel

Reflections on Kurt Gödel PDF Author: Hao Wang
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262730877
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
Newton/Descartes. Einstein/Gödel. The seventeenth century had its scientific and philosophical geniuses. Why shouldn't ours have them as well? Kurt Gödel was indisputably one of the greatest thinkers of our time, and in this first extended treatment of his life and work, Hao Wang, who was in close contact with Gödel in his last years, brings out the full subtlety of Gödel's ideas and their connection with grand themes in the history of mathematics and philosophy. The subjects he covers include the completeness of elementary logic, the limits of formalization, the problem of evidence, the concept of set, the philosophy of mathematics, time, and relativity theory, metaphysics and religion, as well as general ideas on philosophy as a worldview. Wang, whose reflections on his colleague also serve to clarify his own philosophical thoughts, distinguishes his ideas from those of Gödel's and on points of agreement develops Gödel's views further. The book provides a generous array of information on and interpretation of the two main phases of Gödel's career - the years between 1924 and 1939 at the University of Vienna, which were marked by intense mathematical creativity, and the period from 1940 to his death in 1978, during which he was affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, a time in which Gödel's interests steadily shifted from questions of logic to metaphysics. And it also examines Gödel's relations with the Vienna Circle, his philosophical differences with Carnap and Wittgenstein, the intimate and mutually fruitful friendship with Einstein, and the periodic bouts of depression for which Gödel was hospitalized a number of times over the course of his life. A Bradford Book.

Reflections on Kurt Gödel

Reflections on Kurt Gödel PDF Author: Hao Wang
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262730877
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 366

Get Book

Book Description
Newton/Descartes. Einstein/Gödel. The seventeenth century had its scientific and philosophical geniuses. Why shouldn't ours have them as well? Kurt Gödel was indisputably one of the greatest thinkers of our time, and in this first extended treatment of his life and work, Hao Wang, who was in close contact with Gödel in his last years, brings out the full subtlety of Gödel's ideas and their connection with grand themes in the history of mathematics and philosophy. The subjects he covers include the completeness of elementary logic, the limits of formalization, the problem of evidence, the concept of set, the philosophy of mathematics, time, and relativity theory, metaphysics and religion, as well as general ideas on philosophy as a worldview. Wang, whose reflections on his colleague also serve to clarify his own philosophical thoughts, distinguishes his ideas from those of Gödel's and on points of agreement develops Gödel's views further. The book provides a generous array of information on and interpretation of the two main phases of Gödel's career - the years between 1924 and 1939 at the University of Vienna, which were marked by intense mathematical creativity, and the period from 1940 to his death in 1978, during which he was affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, a time in which Gödel's interests steadily shifted from questions of logic to metaphysics. And it also examines Gödel's relations with the Vienna Circle, his philosophical differences with Carnap and Wittgenstein, the intimate and mutually fruitful friendship with Einstein, and the periodic bouts of depression for which Gödel was hospitalized a number of times over the course of his life. A Bradford Book.

A Logical Journey

A Logical Journey PDF Author: Hao Wang
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262261258
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Hao Wang (1921-1995) was one of the few confidants of the great mathematician and logician Kurt Gödel. A Logical Journey is a continuation of Wang's Reflections on Gödel and also elaborates on discussions contained in From Mathematics to Philosophy. A decade in preparation, it contains important and unfamiliar insights into Gödel's views on a wide range of issues, from Platonism and the nature of logic, to minds and machines, the existence of God, and positivism and phenomenology. The impact of Gödel's theorem on twentieth-century thought is on par with that of Einstein's theory of relativity, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, or Keynesian economics. These previously unpublished intimate and informal conversations, however, bring to light and amplify Gödel's other major contributions to logic and philosophy. They reveal that there is much more in Gödel's philosophy of mathematics than is commonly believed, and more in his philosophy than his philosophy of mathematics. Wang writes that "it is even possible that his quite informal and loosely structured conversations with me, which I am freely using in this book, will turn out to be the fullest existing expression of the diverse components of his inadequately articulated general philosophy." The first two chapters are devoted to Gödel's life and mental development. In the chapters that follow, Wang illustrates the quest for overarching solutions and grand unifications of knowledge and action in Gödel's written speculations on God and an afterlife. He gives the background and a chronological summary of the conversations, considers Gödel's comments on philosophies and philosophers (his support of Husserl's phenomenology and his digressions on Kant and Wittgenstein), and his attempt to demonstrate the superiority of the mind's power over brains and machines. Three chapters are tied together by what Wang perceives to be Gödel's governing ideal of philosophy: an exact theory in which mathematics and Newtonian physics serve as a model for philosophy or metaphysics. Finally, in an epilog Wang sketches his own approach to philosophy in contrast to his interpretation of Gödel's outlook.

Kurt Gödel and the Foundations of Mathematics

Kurt Gödel and the Foundations of Mathematics PDF Author: Matthias Baaz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139498436
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 541

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Book Description
This volume commemorates the life, work and foundational views of Kurt Gödel (1906–78), most famous for his hallmark works on the completeness of first-order logic, the incompleteness of number theory, and the consistency - with the other widely accepted axioms of set theory - of the axiom of choice and of the generalized continuum hypothesis. It explores current research, advances and ideas for future directions not only in the foundations of mathematics and logic, but also in the fields of computer science, artificial intelligence, physics, cosmology, philosophy, theology and the history of science. The discussion is supplemented by personal reflections from several scholars who knew Gödel personally, providing some interesting insights into his life. By putting his ideas and life's work into the context of current thinking and perceptions, this book will extend the impact of Gödel's fundamental work in mathematics, logic, philosophy and other disciplines for future generations of researchers.

Reflections on Kurt Gödel

Reflections on Kurt Gödel PDF Author: Hao Wang
Publisher: MIT Press (MA)
ISBN: 9780262231275
Category : Logicians
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Kurt Godel was indisputably one of the greatest thinkers of our time, and in this first extended treatment of his life and work, Hao Wang, who was in close contact with Godel in his last years, brings out the full subtlety of Godel's ideas and their connection with grand themes in the history of mathematics and philosophy.

After Gödel

After Gödel PDF Author: Richard L. Tieszen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019960620X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Richard Tieszen analyzes, develops, and defends the writings of Kurt Gödel (1906-1978) on the philosophy and foundations of mathematics and logic. Gödel's relation to the work of Plato, Leibniz, Husserl, and Kant is examined, and a new type of platonic rationalism that requires rational intuition, called 'constituted platonism', is proposed.

Incompleteness

Incompleteness PDF Author: Rebecca Goldstein
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393327604
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
"An introduction to the life and thought of Kurt Gödel, who transformed our conception of math forever"--Provided by publisher.

Godel's Proof

Godel's Proof PDF Author: Ernest Nagel
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134953992
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 109

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Book Description
The first book to present a readable explanation of Godel's theorem to both scholars and non-specialists, this is a gripping combination of science and accessibility, offering those with a taste for logic and philosophy the chance to satisfy their intellectual curiosity.

Philosophie I Maximen 0

Philosophie I Maximen 0 PDF Author: Kurt Gödel
Publisher: de Gruyter
ISBN: 9783110583748
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The philosophical remarks of Kurt Gödel have been handed down in the form of 15 notebooks. Gödel's overall philosophical project encompasses both his individual ethics and a philosophy of science within the context of a metaphysics. The present vo

I Am a Strange Loop

I Am a Strange Loop PDF Author: Douglas R. Hofstadter
Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
ISBN: 0465030785
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 537

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Book Description
Argues that the key to understanding ourselves and consciousness is the "strange loop," a special kind of abstract feedback loop that inhabits the brain.

From Mathematics to Philosophy (Routledge Revivals)

From Mathematics to Philosophy (Routledge Revivals) PDF Author: Hao Wang
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134884338
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 445

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Book Description
First published in 1974. Despite the tendency of contemporary analytic philosophy to put logic and mathematics at a central position, the author argues it failed to appreciate or account for their rich content. Through discussions of such mathematical concepts as number, the continuum, set, proof and mechanical procedure, the author provides an introduction to the philosophy of mathematics and an internal criticism of the then current academic philosophy. The material presented is also an illustration of a new, more general method of approach called substantial factualism which the author asserts allows for the development of a more comprehensive philosophical position by not trivialising or distorting substantial facts of human knowledge.