Friday, 18 February 2005
Do We Have the Right Limitative Theorems?
Allen Hazen, Unersity Melbourne, Philosophy)
12:05
pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning
Abstract:
The limitative theorems of Godel, Skolem, et al. are not just the
jewels of 20th c. mathematical logic: they also seem to have a kind
of absoluteness of great epistemological interest. The conceptual
situation is, however, a bit subtle: if the theorems are precisely
stated, their reach is unclear, and loose intuitive statements may
admit counterexamples. We discuss an apparent counterexample to
Godel and Skolem, and tentatively conclude that it is a joke, and
that the limitations suggested by the theorems are (to use a word
one prefers to avoid in discussing logic and foundations) real.
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