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Modern Development of the Foundations of Mathematics in the Light of Philosophy

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:21.
  • Biographical
  • Computers/Information Technology
  • Contemporary (Post-WWII)
  • Secondary Source
URL: 

http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/at/godel.htm

Author: 
Kurt GÀÜdel
Excerpt: 

I would like to attempt here to describe, in terms of philosophical concepts, the development of foundational research in mathematics since around the turn of the century, and to fit it into a general schema of possible philosophical world-views [Weltanschauungen]. For this, it is necessary first of all to become clear about the schema itself. I believe that the most fruitful principle for gaining an overall view of the possible world-views will be to divide them up according to the degree and the manner of their affinity to or, respectively, turning away from metaphysics (or religion). In this way we immediately obtain a division into two groups: scepticism, materialism and positivism stand on one side, spiritualism, idealism and theology on the other. We also at once see degrees of difference in this sequence, in that scepticism stands even farther away from theology than does materialism, while on the other hand idealism, e.g., in its pantheistic form, is a weakened form of theology in the proper sense.

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