There's Something About Gödel
Francesco Berto
- 06 november 2009
- 9781405197663
Samenvatting:
There's Something About Godel is a lucid and accessible guide to Godel's revolutionary Incompleteness Theorem , considered one of the most astounding argumentative sequences in the history of human thought. It is also an exploration of the most controversial alleged philosophical outcomes of the Theorem.
There’s Something About Gödel is a lucid and accessible guide to Gödel’s revolutionary Incompleteness Theorem, considered one of the most astounding argumentative sequences in the history of human thought. It is also an exploration of the most controversial alleged philosophical outcomes of the Theorem.
Divided into two parts, the first section introduces the reader to the Incompleteness Theorem – the argument that all mathematical systems contain statements which are true, yet which cannot be proved within the system. Berto describes the historical context surrounding Gödel's accomplishment, explains step-by-step the key aspects of the Theorem, and explores the technical issues of incompleteness in formal logical systems. The second half, The World After Gödel, considers some of the most famous – and infamous – claims arising from Gödel's theorem in the areas of the philosophy of mathematics, metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, Artificial Intelligence, and even sociology and politics.
This book requires only minimal knowledge of aspects of elementary logic, and is written in a user-friendly style that enables it to be read by those outside the academic field, as well as students of philosophy, logic, and computing.
Berto's highly readable and lucid guide introduces students and the interested reader to Gödel's celebrated Incompleteness Theorem, and discusses some of the most famous - and infamous - claims arising from Gödel's arguments.
- Offers a clear understanding of this difficult subject by presenting each of the key steps of the Theorem in separate chapters
- Discusses interpretations of the Theorem made by celebrated contemporary thinkers
- Sheds light on the wider extra-mathematical and philosophical implications of Gödel's theories
- Written in an accessible, non-technical style