Philosophy of Mathematics (Filsafat Matematika)

MATHEMATICS RAISES A WEALTH of philosophical questions, which have occupied some of the greatest thinkers in history. So when writing this book, some hard choices had to be made.

Let me begin with the aim of the book. Its target audience are advanced undergraduates and graduate students in philosophy, but also mathematicians and others interested in the foundations of one of the most successful, but also most puzzling, human endeavors. For the most part, the book does not presuppose much mathematics. Knowledge of elementary logic, the number systems from the natural numbers up through the reals, and some basic ideas from the calculus will be plenty for all except two late chapters devoted to set theory. While some familiarity with the philosophical mode of thinking will be a clear advantage, I have attempted to explain all relevant philosophical concepts.

 

Mathematics as a Philosophical Challenge

Frege’s Logicism

Formalism and Deductivism