Wittgenstein on Mathematical Progress

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5216/phi.v28i1.75205

Keywords:

Wittgenstein, Philosophy of Mathematics, Semantical Mutation, Mathematical Progress

Abstract

The objective of this article is to try to elucidate Wittgenstein’s extravagant thesis that each and every mathematical advancement involves some “semantical mutation”, i.e., some alteration of the very meanings of the terms involved. To do that we will argue in favor of the idea of a “modal incompatibility” between the concepts involved, as they were prior to the advancement, and what they become after the new result was obtained. We will also argue that the adoption of this thesis profoundly alters the traditional way of construing the idea of “progress” in mathematics.

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Author Biography

André Porto, Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), Goiânia, Goiás, Brasil, andre.porto.ufg@gmail.com

Associate professor at Goiás' Federal University (UFG, Brazil), Dean of the Philosophy Faculty, Level 2 CNPq's researcher and ad hoc consulter for CAPES. Prof. Porto specializes in Wittgenstein and the Foundations of Mathematics. His main areas of interest include Intuitionistic Type Theory and Category Theory and alternative analyses, such Smooth Analysis. In addition to these primary areas of research, he is also involved in Wittgenstein’s handling of Subjectivity and Externalism in general

Published

2023-06-28

How to Cite

PORTO, A. Wittgenstein on Mathematical Progress. Philósophos a journal of philosophy, Goiânia, v. 28, n. 1, 2023. DOI: 10.5216/phi.v28i1.75205. Disponível em: https://revistas.ufg.br/philosophos/article/view/75205. Acesso em: 3 jul. 2024.