L.E.J. Brouwer – Topologist, Intuitionist, Philosopher

L.E.J. Brouwer – Topologist, Intuitionist, Philosopher PDF Author: Dirk van Dalen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1447146166
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 877

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Book Description
Dirk van Dalen’s biography studies the fascinating life of the famous Dutch mathematician and philosopher Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer. Brouwer belonged to a special class of genius; complex and often controversial and gifted with a deep intuition, he had an unparalleled access to the secrets and intricacies of mathematics. Most mathematicians remember L.E.J. Brouwer from his scientific breakthroughs in the young subject of topology and for the famous Brouwer fixed point theorem. Brouwer’s main interest, however, was in the foundation of mathematics which led him to introduce, and then consolidate, constructive methods under the name ‘intuitionism’. This made him one of the main protagonists in the ‘foundation crisis’ of mathematics. As a confirmed internationalist, he also got entangled in the interbellum struggle for the ending of the boycott of German and Austrian scientists. This time during the twentieth century was turbulent; nationalist resentment and friction between formalism and intuitionism led to the Mathematische Annalen conflict ('The war of the frogs and the mice'). It was here that Brouwer played a pivotal role. The present biography is an updated revision of the earlier two volume biography in one single book. It appeals to mathematicians and anybody interested in the history of mathematics in the first half of the twentieth century.

L.E.J. Brouwer – Topologist, Intuitionist, Philosopher

L.E.J. Brouwer – Topologist, Intuitionist, Philosopher PDF Author: Dirk van Dalen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1447146166
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 877

Get Book Here

Book Description
Dirk van Dalen’s biography studies the fascinating life of the famous Dutch mathematician and philosopher Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer. Brouwer belonged to a special class of genius; complex and often controversial and gifted with a deep intuition, he had an unparalleled access to the secrets and intricacies of mathematics. Most mathematicians remember L.E.J. Brouwer from his scientific breakthroughs in the young subject of topology and for the famous Brouwer fixed point theorem. Brouwer’s main interest, however, was in the foundation of mathematics which led him to introduce, and then consolidate, constructive methods under the name ‘intuitionism’. This made him one of the main protagonists in the ‘foundation crisis’ of mathematics. As a confirmed internationalist, he also got entangled in the interbellum struggle for the ending of the boycott of German and Austrian scientists. This time during the twentieth century was turbulent; nationalist resentment and friction between formalism and intuitionism led to the Mathematische Annalen conflict ('The war of the frogs and the mice'). It was here that Brouwer played a pivotal role. The present biography is an updated revision of the earlier two volume biography in one single book. It appeals to mathematicians and anybody interested in the history of mathematics in the first half of the twentieth century.

The Selected Correspondence of L.E.J. Brouwer

The Selected Correspondence of L.E.J. Brouwer PDF Author: Dirk von Dalen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0857295373
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 531

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Book Description
L.E.J. Brouwer (1881-1966) is best known for his revolutionary ideas on topology and foundations of mathematics (intuitionism). The present collection contains a mixture of letters; university and faculty correspondence has been included, some of which shed light on the student years, and in particular on the exchange of letters with his PhD adviser, Korteweg. Acting as the natural sequel to the publication of Brouwer’s biography, this book provides instrumental reading for those wishing to gain a deeper understanding of Brouwer and his role in the twentieth century. Striking a good balance of biographical and scientific information, the latter deals with innovations in topology (Cantor-Schoenflies style and the new topology) and foundations. The topological period in his research is well represented in correspondence with Hilbert, Schoenflies, Poincaré, Blumenthal, Lebesgue, Baire, Koebe, and foundational topics are discussed in letters exchanged with Weyl, Fraenkel, Heyting, van Dantzig and others. There is also a large part of correspondence on matters related to the interbellum scientific politics. This book will appeal to both graduate students and researchers with an interest in topology, the history of mathematics, the foundations of mathematics, philosophy and general science.

Philosophy and Foundations of Mathematics

Philosophy and Foundations of Mathematics PDF Author: A. Heyting
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483278158
Category : Mathematics
Languages : de
Pages : 645

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Book Description
L.E.J. Brouwer: Collected Works, Volume 1: Philosophy and Foundations of Mathematics focuses on the principles, operations, and approaches promoted by Brouwer in studying the philosophy and foundations of mathematics. The publication first ponders on the construction of mathematics. Topics include arithmetic of integers, negative numbers, measurable continuum, irrational numbers, Cartesian geometry, similarity group, characterization of the linear system of the Cartesian or Euclidean and hyperbolic space, and non-Archimedean uniform groups on the one-dimensional continuum. The book then examines mathematics and experience and mathematics and logic. Topics include denumerably unfinished sets, continuum problem, logic of relations, consistency proofs for formal systems independent of their interpretation, infinite numbers, and problems of space and time. The text is a valuable reference for students, mathematicians, and researchers interested in the contributions of Brouwer in the studies on the philosophy and foundations of mathematics.

L. E. J. Brouwer Collected Works

L. E. J. Brouwer Collected Works PDF Author: Hans Freudenthal
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483257541
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 735

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Book Description
L. E. J. Brouwer Collected Works, Volume 2: Geometry, Analysis, Topology, and Mechanics focuses on the contributions and principles of Brouwer on geometry, topology, analysis, and mechanics, including non-Euclidean spaces, integrals, and surfaces. The publication first ponders on non-Euclidean spaces and integral theorems, lie groups, and plane transition theorem. Discussions focus on remarks on multiple integrals, force field of the non-Euclidean spaces with negative curvature, difference quotients and differential quotients, characterization of the Euclidean and non-Euclidean motion groups, and continuous one-one transformations of surfaces in themselves. The book also takes a look at vector fields on surfaces and new methods in topology, including continuous vector distributions on surfaces and orthogonal trajectories of the orbits of a one parameter plane projective group. The book then ponders on mechanics and topology of surfaces, as well as the motion of a particle on the bottom of a rotating vessel under the influence of gravitational force. The publication is a valuable reference for researchers interested in geometry, topology, analysis, and mechanics.

Brouwer's Cambridge Lectures on Intuitionism

Brouwer's Cambridge Lectures on Intuitionism PDF Author: Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521177368
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Luitzen Egburtus Jan Brouwer founded a school of thought whose aim was to include mathematics within the framework of intuitionistic philosophy; mathematics was to be regarded as an essentially free development of the human mind. What emerged diverged considerably at some points from tradition, but intuitionism has survived well the struggle between contending schools in the foundations of mathematics and exact philosophy. Originally published in 1981, this monograph contains a series of lectures dealing with most of the fundamental topics such as choice sequences, the continuum, the fan theorem, order and well-order. Brouwer's own powerful style is evident throughout the work.

Intuitionistic Proof Versus Classical Truth

Intuitionistic Proof Versus Classical Truth PDF Author: Enrico Martino
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319743570
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
This book examines the role of acts of choice in classical and intuitionistic mathematics. Featuring fifteen papers – both new and previously published – it offers a fresh analysis of concepts developed by the mathematician and philosopher L.E.J. Brouwer, the founder of intuitionism. The author explores Brouwer’s idealization of the creative subject as the basis for intuitionistic truth, and in the process he also discusses an important, related question: to what extent does the intuitionistic perspective succeed in avoiding the classical realistic notion of truth? The papers detail realistic aspects in the idealization of the creative subject and investigate the hidden role of choice even in classical logic and mathematics, covering such topics as bar theorem, type theory, inductive evidence, Beth models, fallible models, and more. In addition, the author offers a critical analysis of the response of key mathematicians and philosophers to Brouwer’s work. These figures include Michael Dummett, Saul Kripke, Per Martin-Löf, and Arend Heyting. This book appeals to researchers and graduate students with an interest in philosophy of mathematics, linguistics, and mathematics.

Mystic, Geometer, and Intuitionist: The dawning revolution

Mystic, Geometer, and Intuitionist: The dawning revolution PDF Author: Dirk Dalen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer is a remarkable figure, both in the development of mathematics and in wider Dutch history. A mathematical genius with strong mystical and philosophical leanings, he advocated a constructivistic, more human view of mathematics and science. A sophisticated analysis of a crucial era of mathematical research, this book is an important insight into the life of one of its most fascinating characters.

Gnomes in the Fog

Gnomes in the Fog PDF Author: Dennis E. Hesseling
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 303487989X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
The significance of foundational debate in mathematics that took place in the 1920s seems to have been recognized only in circles of mathematicians and philosophers. A period in the history of mathematics when mathematics and philosophy, usually so far away from each other, seemed to meet. The foundational debate is presented with all its brilliant contributions and its shortcomings, its new ideas and its misunderstandings.

Brouwer meets Husserl

Brouwer meets Husserl PDF Author: Mark van Atten
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402050879
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Can a line be analysed mathematically such a way that it does not fall apart into a set of discrete points? Are there objects of pure mathematics that can change through time? L. E. J. Brouwer argued that the two questions are related and that the answer to both is "yes", introducing the concept of choice sequences. This book subjects Brouwer's choice sequences to a phenomenological critique in the style of Husserl.

Essays on Gödel’s Reception of Leibniz, Husserl, and Brouwer

Essays on Gödel’s Reception of Leibniz, Husserl, and Brouwer PDF Author: Mark van Atten
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783319376578
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This volume tackles Gödel's two-stage project of first using Husserl's transcendental phenomenology to reconstruct and develop Leibniz' monadology, and then founding classical mathematics on the metaphysics thus obtained. The author analyses the historical and systematic aspects of that project, and then evaluates it, with an emphasis on the second stage. The book is organised around Gödel's use of Leibniz, Husserl and Brouwer. Far from considering past philosophers irrelevant to actual systematic concerns, Gödel embraced the use of historical authors to frame his own philosophical perspective. The philosophies of Leibniz and Husserl define his project, while Brouwer's intuitionism is its principal foil: the close affinities between phenomenology and intuitionism set the bar for Gödel's attempt to go far beyond intuitionism. The four central essays are `Monads and sets', `On the philosophical development of Kurt Gödel', `Gödel and intuitionism', and `Construction and constitution in mathematics'. The first analyses and criticises Gödel's attempt to justify, by an argument from analogy with the monadology, the reflection principle in set theory. It also provides further support for Gödel's idea that the monadology needs to be reconstructed phenomenologically, by showing that the unsupplemented monadology is not able to found mathematics directly. The second studies Gödel's reading of Husserl, its relation to Leibniz' monadology, and its influence on his publishe d writings. The third discusses how on various occasions Brouwer's intuitionism actually inspired Gödel's work, in particular the Dialectica Interpretation. The fourth addresses the question whether classical mathematics admits of the phenomenological foundation that Gödel envisaged, and concludes that it does not. The remaining essays provide further context. The essays collected here were written and published over the last decade. Notes have been added to record further thoughts, changes of mind, connections between the essays, and updates of references.