Rocking the Foundations of Mathematics: Logic, Paradox, and the Quest for Consistency
Thursday 19th January 2017
Mathematics looks like the rock-solid foundations of the sciences. But is it really as safe and un-shakeable as it seems? The development went through some crises and hit upon unexpected paradoxes and problems.
Logicians, philosophers, and mathematicians, among them Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Kurt Gödel, and Alan Turing have worked on the foundations of mathematics. In the talk I will tell the story of grand programmes, their failures, feuds, and cunning arguments at the intersection of mathematics, logic, computer science, and philosophy.
Professor Volker Halbach
Volker Halbach is professor of philosophy at the University of Oxford. He specializes in logic and formal philosophy.