Incompleteness: The Proof And Paradox Of Kurt GodelThe early twentieth century saw several blows to the assumptions that underlay classical physics and mathematics. Relativity overthrew established concepts of space and time. The study of the quantum world challenged the basic notions of cause and effect. Given the fundamental importance of mathematics to all of science, the remarkable theorem of incompleteness uncovered an unbridgeable gap in all attempts to systematize mathematical reasoning, a result that appears almost paradoxical. The genius behind this discover was Kurt Gödel, himself a man of paradox. |
Contents
Introduction | 13 |
A Platonist among the Positivists | 53 |
Hilbert and the Formalists | 121 |
The Proof of Incompleteness | 147 |
Gödels Incompleteness | 207 |
Notes | 263 |
Acknowledgments | 279 |
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