A footnote to The crisis in contemporary mathematics

Boris Katz, Mikhail G. Katz, Sam Sanders

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

We examine the preparation and context of the paper “The Crisis in Contemporary Mathematics” by Errett Bishop, published 1975 in Historia Mathematica. Bishop tried to moderate the differences between Hilbert and Brouwer with respect to the interpretation of logical connectives and quantifiers. He also commented on Robinson's Non-standard Analysis, fearing that it might lead to what he referred to as ‘a debasement of meaning.’ The ‘debasement’ comment can already be found in a draft version of Bishop's lecture, but not in the audio file of the actual lecture of 1974. We elucidate the context of the ‘debasement’ comment and its relation to Bishop's position vis-a-vis the Law of Excluded Middle.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)176-181
Number of pages6
JournalHistoria Mathematica
Volume45
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords

  • Constructive mathematics
  • Infinitesimal analysis
  • Robinson's framework

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