Godel's Disjunction: The Scope and Limits of Mathematical Knowledge

Godel's Disjunction: The Scope and Limits of Mathematical Knowledge
ISBN-10
0198759592
ISBN-13
9780198759591
Category
Mathematics
Pages
288
Language
English
Published
2016-09-28
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Authors
Leon Horsten, Philip Welch

Description

The logician Kurt Godel in 1951 established a disjunctive thesis about the scope and limits of mathematical knowledge: either the mathematical mind is not equivalent to a Turing machine (i.e., a computer), or there are absolutely undecidable mathematical problems. In the second half of the twentieth century, attempts have been made to arrive at a stronger conclusion. In particular, arguments have been produced by the philosopher J.R. Lucas and by the physicist and mathematician Roger Penrose that intend to show that the mathematical mind is more powerful than any computer. These arguments, and counterarguments to them, have not convinced the logical and philosophical community. The reason for this is an insufficiency if rigour in the debate. The contributions in this volume move the debate forward by formulating rigorous frameworks and formally spelling out and evaluating arguments that bear on Godel's disjunction in these frameworks. The contributions in this volume have been written by world leading experts in the field.

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