Understanding the Infinite (Paper)

Shaughan Lavine

• 13 januari 1998
• 9780674921177

Samenvatting:

How can the infinite, a subject remote from finite experience, be an everyday tool for working mathematicians? Blending history, philosophy, mathematics, and logic, Lavine answers this question with clarity. He demonstrates that knowledge of the infinite is possible, even according to strict standards requiring some intuitive basis for knowledge.



How can the infinite, a subject so remote from our finite experience, be an everyday tool for the working mathematician? Blending history, philosophy, mathematics, and logic, Shaughan Lavine answers this question with exceptional clarity. Making use of the mathematical work of Jan Mycielski, he demonstrates that knowledge of the infinite is possible, even according to strict standards that require some intuitive basis for knowledge.