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Books > Science & Mathematics > Mathematics > Philosophy of mathematics

Bayes's Theorem (Paperback): Richard Swinburne Bayes's Theorem (Paperback)
Richard Swinburne
R668 Discovery Miles 6 680 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Bayes's theorem is a tool for assessing how probable evidence makes some hypothesis. The papers in this volume consider the worth and applicability of the theorem. Richard Swinburne sets out the philosophical issues. Elliott Sober argues that there are other criteria for assessing hypotheses. Colin Howson, Philip Dawid and John Earman consider how the theorem can be used in statistical science, in weighing evidence in criminal trials, and in assessing evidence for the occurrence of miracles. David Miller argues for the worth of the probability calculus as a tool for measuring propensities in nature rather than the strength of evidence. The volume ends with the original paper containing the theorem, presented to the Royal Society in 1763.

Philosophy of Mathematics - An Anthology (Paperback): D. Jacquette Philosophy of Mathematics - An Anthology (Paperback)
D. Jacquette
R1,266 Discovery Miles 12 660 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This distinctive anthology includes many of the most important recent contributions to the philosophy of mathematics. The featured papers are organized thematically, rather than chronologically, to provide the best overview of philosophical issues connected with mathematics and the development of mathematical knowledge. Coverage ranges from general topics in mathematical explanation and the concept of number, to specialized investigations of the ontology of mathematical entities and the nature of mathematical truth, models and methods of mathematical proof, intuitionistic mathematics, and philosophical foundations of set theory.

This volume explores the central problems and exposes intriguing new directions in the philosophy of mathematics, making it an essential teaching resource, reference work, and research guide.

The book complements "Philosophy of Logic: An Anthology" and "A Companion to Philosophical Logic, "also edited by Dale Jacquette (Blackwell 2001).

Reverse Mathematics - Proofs from the Inside Out (Paperback): John Stillwell Reverse Mathematics - Proofs from the Inside Out (Paperback)
John Stillwell
R488 Discovery Miles 4 880 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The first book surveying the history and ideas behind reverse mathematics Reverse mathematics is a new field that seeks to find the axioms needed to prove given theorems. In Reverse Mathematics, John Stillwell offers a historical and representative view, emphasizing basic analysis and giving a novel approach to logic. By using a minimum of mathematical logic in a well-motivated way, Reverse Mathematics will engage advanced undergraduates and all mathematicians interested in the foundations of mathematics.

The Foundations of Arithmetic Revised 2e Revised (Paperback, Revised 2nd Edition): G Frege The Foundations of Arithmetic Revised 2e Revised (Paperback, Revised 2nd Edition)
G Frege
R1,011 Discovery Miles 10 110 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This volume represents the first philosophically sound discussion of the concept of number in Western civilization. (Mathematics)

Ptolemy's Philosophy - Mathematics as a Way of Life (Paperback): Jacqueline Feke Ptolemy's Philosophy - Mathematics as a Way of Life (Paperback)
Jacqueline Feke
R987 Discovery Miles 9 870 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

A stimulating intellectual history of Ptolemy's philosophy and his conception of a world in which mathematics reigns supreme The Greco-Roman mathematician Claudius Ptolemy is one of the most significant figures in the history of science. He is remembered today for his astronomy, but his philosophy is almost entirely lost to history. This groundbreaking book is the first to reconstruct Ptolemy's general philosophical system-including his metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics-and to explore its relationship to astronomy, harmonics, element theory, astrology, cosmology, psychology, and theology. In this stimulating intellectual history, Jacqueline Feke uncovers references to a complex and sophisticated philosophical agenda scattered among Ptolemy's technical studies in the physical and mathematical sciences. She shows how he developed a philosophy that was radical and even subversive, appropriating ideas and turning them against the very philosophers from whom he drew influence. Feke reveals how Ptolemy's unique system is at once a critique of prevailing philosophical trends and a conception of the world in which mathematics reigns supreme. A compelling work of scholarship, Ptolemy's Philosophy demonstrates how Ptolemy situated mathematics at the very foundation of all philosophy-theoretical and practical-and advanced the mathematical way of life as the true path to human perfection.

Nondeductive Inference (Hardcover): Robert Ackermann Nondeductive Inference (Hardcover)
Robert Ackermann
R2,792 Discovery Miles 27 920 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Originally published in 1966. An introduction to current studies of kinds of inference in which validity cannot be determined by ordinary deductive models. In particular, inductive inference, predictive inference, statistical inference, and decision making are examined in some detail. The last chapter discusses the relationship of these forms of inference to philosophical notions of rationality. Special features of the monograph include a discussion of the legitimacy of various criteria for successful predictive inference, the development of an intuitive model which exhibits the difficulties of choosing probability measures over infinite sets, and a comparison of rival views on the foundations of probability in terms of the amount of information which the members of these schools believe suitable for fruitful formalization. The bibliographies include articles by statisticians accessible to students of symbolic logic.

An Introduction to Many-valued Logics (Hardcover): Robert Ackermann An Introduction to Many-valued Logics (Hardcover)
Robert Ackermann
R2,438 Discovery Miles 24 380 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Originally published in 1967. An introduction to the literature of nonstandard logic, in particular to those nonstandard logics known as many-valued logics. Part I expounds and discusses implicational calculi, modal logics and many-valued logics and their associated calculi. Part II considers the detailed development of various many-valued calculi, and some of the important metathereoms which have been proved for them. Applications of the calculi to problems in the philosophy are also surveyed. This work combines criticism with exposition to form a comprehensive but concise survey of the field.

Routledge Library Editions: Logic (Hardcover): Various Routledge Library Editions: Logic (Hardcover)
Various
R28,336 Discovery Miles 283 360 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Reissuing works originally published between 1931 and 1990, this set of twenty-four books covers the full range of the philosophy of logic, from introductions to logic, to calculus and mathematical logic, to logic in language and linguistics and logical reasoning in law and ethics. An international array of authors are represented in this comprehensive collection.

Words of Power - A Feminist Reading of the History of Logic (Hardcover): Andrea Nye Words of Power - A Feminist Reading of the History of Logic (Hardcover)
Andrea Nye
R3,216 Discovery Miles 32 160 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Originally published in 1990. A common complaint of philosophers, and men in general, has been that women are illogical. On the other hand, rationality, defined as the ability to follow logical argument, is often claimed to be a defining characteristic of man. Andrea Nye undermines assumptions such as: logic is unitary, logic is independent of concrete human relations, logic transcends historical circumstances as well as gender. In a series of studies of the logics of historical figures Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, Abelard, Ockham, and Frege she traces the changing interrelationships between logical innovation and oppressive speech strategies, showing that logic is not transcendent truth but abstract forms of language spoken by men, whether Greek ruling citizens, imperial administrators, church officials, or scientists. She relates logical techniques, such as logical division, syllogisms, and truth functions, to ways in which those with power speak to and about those subject to them. She shows, in the specific historical settings of Ancient and Hellenistic Greece, medieval Europe, and Germany between the World Wars, how logicians reworked language so that dialogue and reciprocity are impossible and one speaker is forced to accept the words of another. In the personal, as well as confrontative style of her readings, Nye points the way to another power in the words of women that might break into and challenge rational discourses that have structured Western thought and practice.

Hilbert's Programs and Beyond (Paperback): Wilfried Sieg Hilbert's Programs and Beyond (Paperback)
Wilfried Sieg
R1,312 Discovery Miles 13 120 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Hilbert's Programs & Beyond presents the foundational work of David Hilbert in a sequence of thematically organized essays. They first trace the roots of Hilbert's work to the radical transformation of mathematics in the 19th century and bring out his pivotal role in creating mathematical logic and proof theory. They then analyze techniques and results of "classical" proof theory as well as their dramatic expansion in modern proof theory. This intellectual experience finally opens horizons for reflection on the nature of mathematics in the 21st century: Sieg articulates his position of reductive structuralism and explores mathematical capacities via computational models.

Fuzzy Logic and Mathematics - A Historical Perspective (Hardcover): Radim Belohlavek, Joseph Warren Dauben, George J. Klir Fuzzy Logic and Mathematics - A Historical Perspective (Hardcover)
Radim Belohlavek, Joseph Warren Dauben, George J. Klir
R3,313 Discovery Miles 33 130 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The term "fuzzy logic" (FL), as it is understood in this book, stands for all aspects of representing and manipulating knowledge based on the rejection of the most fundamental principle of classical logic: the principle of bivalence. According to this principle, each declarative sentence is required to be either true or false. In fuzzy logic, these classical truth values are not abandoned. However, additional, intermediary truth values between true and false are allowed, which are interpreted as degrees of truth. This opens a new way of thinking-thinking in terms of degrees rather than absolutes. For example, it led to the definition of a new category of sets, referred to as fuzzy sets, in which membership is a matter of degree. The book examines the genesis and development of fuzzy logic. It surveys the prehistory of fuzzy logic and inspects circumstances that eventually lead to the emergence of fuzzy logic. The book explores in detail the development of propositional, predicate, and other calculi that admit degrees of truth, which are known as fuzzy logic in the narrow sense. Fuzzy logic in the broad sense, whose primary aim is to utilize degrees of truth for emulating common-sense human reasoning in natural language, is scrutinized as well. The book also examines principles for developing mathematics based on fuzzy logic and provides overviews of areas in which this has been done most effectively. It also presents a detailed survey of established and prospective applications of fuzzy logic in various areas of human affairs, and provides an assessment of the significance of fuzzy logic as a new paradigm.

Mechanistic Explanations in Physics and Beyond (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2019): Brigitte Falkenburg, Gregor Schiemann Mechanistic Explanations in Physics and Beyond (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2019)
Brigitte Falkenburg, Gregor Schiemann
R3,343 Discovery Miles 33 430 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

This volume offers a broad, philosophical discussion on mechanical explanations. Coverage ranges from historical approaches and general questions to physics and higher-level sciences . The contributors also consider the topics of complexity, emergence, and reduction. Mechanistic explanations detail how certain properties of a whole stem from the causal activities of its parts. This kind of explanation is in particular employed in explanatory models of the behavior of complex systems. Often used in biology and neuroscience, mechanistic explanation models have been often overlooked in the philosophy of physics. The authors correct this surprising neglect. They trace these models back to their origins in physics. The papers present a comprehensive historical, methodological, and problem-oriented investigation. The contributors also investigate the conditions for using models of mechanistic explanations in physics. The last papers make the bridge from physics to economics, the theory of complex systems and computer science . This book will appeal to graduate students and researchers with an interest in the philosophy of science, scientific explanation, complex systems, models of explanation in physics higher level sciences, and causal mechanisms in science.

Ontology and the Ambitions of Metaphysics (Paperback): Thomas Hofweber Ontology and the Ambitions of Metaphysics (Paperback)
Thomas Hofweber
R1,181 Discovery Miles 11 810 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Many significant problems in metaphysics are tied to ontological questions, but ontology and its relation to larger questions in metaphysics give rise to a series of puzzles that suggest that we don't fully understand what ontology is supposed to do, nor what ambitions metaphysics can have for finding out about what the world is like. Thomas Hofweber aims to solve these puzzles about ontology and consequently to make progress on four metaphysical debates tied to ontology: the philosophy of arithmetic, the metaphysics of ordinary objects, the problem of universals, and the question of whether the fact-like aspect of reality is independent of us. Crucial parts of the proposed solution involve considerations about quantification and its relationship to ontology, the place of reference in natural languages, the relationship between syntactic form and focus, whether there could be any ineffable facts, and others. Overall, Hofweber defends a rationalist account of arithmetic, an empiricist picture in the philosophy of ordinary objects, a restricted from of nominalism, and realism about reality, understood as all there is, but idealism about reality, understood as all that is the case. He defends metaphysics as having some questions of fact that are distinctly its own, with a limited form of autonomy from other parts of inquiry, but rejects several metaphysical projects and approaches as being based on a mistake.

On Constructive Interpretation of Predictive Mathematics (1990) (Paperback): Charles Parsons On Constructive Interpretation of Predictive Mathematics (1990) (Paperback)
Charles Parsons
R827 Discovery Miles 8 270 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

First published in 1990, this book consists of a detailed exposition of results of the theory of "interpretation" developed by G. Kreisel - the relative impenetrability of which gives the elucidation contained here great value for anyone seeking to understand his work. It contains more complex versions of the information obtained by Kreisel for number theory and clustering around the no-counter-example interpretation, for number-theorectic forumulae provide in ramified analysis. It also proves the omega-consistency of ramified analysis. The author also presents proofs of Schutte's cut-elimination theorems which are based on his consistency proofs and essentially contain them - these went further than any published work up to that point, helping to squeeze the maximum amount of information from these proofs.

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics (Paperback): Harold Kincaid, Don Ross The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics (Paperback)
Harold Kincaid, Don Ross
R1,565 Discovery Miles 15 650 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics is a cutting-edge reference work to philosophical issues in the practice of economics. It is motivated by the view that there is more to economics than general equilibrium theory, and that the philosophy of economics should reflect the diversity of activities and topics that currently occupy economists. Contributions in the Handbook are thus closely tied to ongoing theoretical and empirical concerns in economics. Contributors include both philosophers of science and economists. Chapters fall into three general categories: received views in philosophy of economics, ongoing controversies in microeconomics, and issues in modeling, macroeconomics, and development. Specific topics include methodology, game theory, experimental economics, behavioral economics, neuroeconomics, computational economics, data mining, interpersonal comparisons of utility, measurement of welfare and well being, growth theory and development, and microfoundations of macroeconomics. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics is a groundbreaking reference like no other in its field. It is a central resource for those wishing to learn about the philosophy of economics, and for those who actively engage in the discipline, from advanced undergraduates to professional philosophers, economists, and historians.

I is a Strange Loop (Paperback, Main): Marcus du Sautoy, Victoria Gould I is a Strange Loop (Paperback, Main)
Marcus du Sautoy, Victoria Gould
R279 R251 Discovery Miles 2 510 Save R28 (10%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

Alone in a cube that's glowing in the darkness, X is content within its little universe of infinite thought. This solitude is disturbed by the appearance of Y, who insists on exposing X to the richness of the physical world. Each begins to long for what the other has, luring them into a strange loop. In this play for two variables, Marcus du Sautoy and Victoria Gould use mathematics and theatre to navigate the furthest reaches of our world. Through a series of surreal episodes, X and Y tackle some of life's greatest questions: where did the universe come from, does time have an end, do we have free will? I is a Strange Loop was first performed by the authors at the Barbican Pit, London, in March 2019. 'I is a Strange Loop is a play that plays with ideas, concepts, abstractions and relationships that are, usually, hidden from the sight of ordinary mortals, articulating the ineffable, incarnating the incorporeal, revealing the inconceivable. It makes us feel we know a great deal more than we do. It is also very funny, utterly compelling and marvellously human.' Simon McBurney

The Mathematical Imagination - On the Origins and Promise of Critical Theory (Paperback): Matthew Handelman The Mathematical Imagination - On the Origins and Promise of Critical Theory (Paperback)
Matthew Handelman
R681 Discovery Miles 6 810 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book offers an archeology of the undeveloped potential of mathematics for critical theory. As Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno first conceived of the critical project in the 1930s, critical theory steadfastly opposed the mathematization of thought. Mathematics flattened thought into a dangerous positivism that led reason to the barbarism of World War II. The Mathematical Imagination challenges this narrative, showing how for other German-Jewish thinkers, such as Gershom Scholem, Franz Rosenzweig, and Siegfried Kracauer, mathematics offered metaphors to negotiate the crises of modernity during the Weimar Republic. Influential theories of poetry, messianism, and cultural critique, Handelman shows, borrowed from the philosophy of mathematics, infinitesimal calculus, and geometry in order to refashion cultural and aesthetic discourse. Drawn to the austerity and muteness of mathematics, these friends and forerunners of the Frankfurt School found in mathematical approaches to negativity strategies to capture the marginalized experiences and perspectives of Jews in Germany. Their vocabulary, in which theory could be both mathematical and critical, is missing from the intellectual history of critical theory, whether in the work of second generation critical theorists such as Jürgen Habermas or in contemporary critiques of technology. The Mathematical Imagination shows how Scholem, Rosenzweig, and Kracauer’s engagement with mathematics uncovers a more capacious vision of the critical project, one with tools that can help us intervene in our digital and increasingly mathematical present. The Mathematical Imagination is available from the publisher on an open-access basis.

Reverse Mathematics - Proofs from the Inside Out (Hardcover): John Stillwell Reverse Mathematics - Proofs from the Inside Out (Hardcover)
John Stillwell
R755 Discovery Miles 7 550 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book presents reverse mathematics to a general mathematical audience for the first time. Reverse mathematics is a new field that answers some old questions. In the two thousand years that mathematicians have been deriving theorems from axioms, it has often been asked: which axioms are needed to prove a given theorem? Only in the last two hundred years have some of these questions been answered, and only in the last forty years has a systematic approach been developed. In Reverse Mathematics, John Stillwell gives a representative view of this field, emphasizing basic analysis--finding the "right axioms" to prove fundamental theorems--and giving a novel approach to logic. Stillwell introduces reverse mathematics historically, describing the two developments that made reverse mathematics possible, both involving the idea of arithmetization. The first was the nineteenth-century project of arithmetizing analysis, which aimed to define all concepts of analysis in terms of natural numbers and sets of natural numbers. The second was the twentieth-century arithmetization of logic and computation. Thus arithmetic in some sense underlies analysis, logic, and computation. Reverse mathematics exploits this insight by viewing analysis as arithmetic extended by axioms about the existence of infinite sets. Remarkably, only a small number of axioms are needed for reverse mathematics, and, for each basic theorem of analysis, Stillwell finds the "right axiom" to prove it. By using a minimum of mathematical logic in a well-motivated way, Reverse Mathematics will engage advanced undergraduates and all mathematicians interested in the foundations of mathematics.

Logicomix - An Epic Search for Truth (Paperback): Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos Papadimitriou Logicomix - An Epic Search for Truth (Paperback)
Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos Papadimitriou
R681 R600 Discovery Miles 6 000 Save R81 (12%) Ships in 18 - 22 working days

An innovative, dramatic graphic novel about the treacherous pursuit of the foundations of mathematics.

This exceptional graphic novel recounts the spiritual odyssey of philosopher Bertrand Russell. In his agonized search for absolute truth, Russell crosses paths with legendary thinkers like Gottlob Frege, David Hilbert, and Kurt Godel, and finds a passionate student in the great Ludwig Wittgenstein. But his most ambitious goal--to establish unshakable logical foundations of mathematics--continues to loom before him. Through love and hate, peace and war, Russell persists in the dogged mission that threatens to claim both his career and his personal happiness, finally driving him to the brink of insanity.

This story is at the same time a historical novel and an accessible explication of some of the biggest ideas of mathematics and modern philosophy. With rich characterizations and expressive, atmospheric artwork, the book spins the pursuit of these ideas into a highly satisfying tale. Probing and ingeniously layered, the book throws light on Russell's inner struggles while setting them in the context of the timeless questions he spent his life trying to answer. At its heart, "Logicomix "is a story about the conflict between an ideal rationality and the unchanging, flawed fabric of reality.Apostolos Doxiadis studied mathematics at Columbia University. His international bestseller "Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture" spearheaded the impressive entrance of mathematics into the world of storytelling. Apart from his work in fiction, Apostolos has also worked in film and theater and is an internationally recognized expert on the relationship of mathematics to narrative. Christos H. Papadimitriou is C . Lester Hogan professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He was won numerous international awards for his pioneering work in computational complexity and algorithmic game theory. Christos is the author of the novel "Turing: A Novel about Computation." Alecos Papadatos worked for over twenty years in film animation in France and Greece. In 1997, he became a cartoonist for the major Athens daily "To Vima." He lives in Athens with his wife, Annie Di Donna, and their two children. Annie Di Donna studied graphic arts and painting in France and has worked as animator on many productions, among them "Babar" and "Tintin." Since 1991, she has been running an animation studio with her husband, Alecos Papadatos. This innovative graphic novel is based on the early life of the brilliant philosopher Bertrand Russell. Russell and his impassioned pursuit of truth. Haunted by family secrets and unable to quell his youthful curiosity, Russell became obsessed with a Promethean goal: to establish the logical foundation of all mathematics. In his agonized search for absolute truth, Russell crosses paths with legendary thinkers like Gottlob Frege, David Hilbert, and Kurt Godel, and finds a passionate student in the great Ludwig Wittgenstein. But the object of his defining quest continues to loom before him. Through love and hate, peace and war, Russell persists in the dogged mission that threatens to claim both his career and his personal happiness, finally driving him to the brink of insanity. "Logicomix" is at the same time a historical novel and an accessible explication to some of the biggest ideas of mathematics and modern philosophy. With rich characterizations and expressive, atmospheric artwork, the book spins the pursuit of these ideas into a captivating tale. Probing and ingeniously layered, the book throws light on Russell's inner struggles while setting them in the context of the timeless questions he spent his life trying to answer. At its heart, "Logicomix" is a story about the conflict between an ideal rationality and the unchanging, flawed fabric of reality. "At the heart of Logicomix stands Sir Bertrand Russell, a man determined to find a way of arriving at absolutely right answers. It's a tale within a tale, as the two authors and two graphic artists ardently pursue their own search for truth and appear as characters in the book. As one of them assures us, this won't be 'your typical, usual comic book.' Their quest takes shape and revolves around a lecture given by Russell at an unnamed American university in 1939, a lecture that is really, as he himself tells us, the story of his life and of his pursuit of real logical truth. With Proustian ambition and exhilarating artwork, "Logicomix"'s search for truth encounters head-on the horrors of the Second World War and the agonizing question of whether war can ever be the right choice. Russell himself had to confront that question personally: he endured six months in jail for his pacifism. Russell was determined to find the perfect logical method for solving all problems and attempted to remold human nature in his experimental school at Beacon Hill. Despite repeated failures, Russell never stopped being 'a sad little boy desperately seeking ways out of the deadly vortex of uncertainty.' The book is a visual banquet chronicling Russell's lifelong pursuit of 'certainty in total rationality.' As Logic and Mathematics, the last bastions of certainty, fail him, and as Reason proves not absolute, Russell is forced to face the fact that there is no Royal Road to Truth. Authors Dosiadis and Papadimitriou perfectly echo Russell's passion, with a sincere, easily grasped text amplified with breathtaking visual richness, making this the most satisfying graphic novel of 2009, a titanic artistic achievement of more than 300 pages, all of it pure reading joy."--Nick DiMartino, "Shelf Awareness" "This is an extraordinary graphic novel, wildly ambitious in daring to put into words and drawings the life and thought of one of the great philosophers of the last century, Bertrand Russell. The book is a rare intellectual and artistic achievement, which will, I am sure, lead its readers to explore realms of knowledge they thought were forbidden to them."--Howard Zinn "This magnificent book is about ideas, passions, madness, and the fierce struggle between well-defined principle and the larger good. It follows the great mathematicians--Russell, Whitehead, Frege Cantor, Hilbert--as they agonized to make the foundations of mathematics exact, consistent, and complete. And we see the band of artists and researchers--and the all-seeking dog Manga--creating, and participating in, this glorious narrative."--Barry Mazur, Gerhard Gade University Professor at Harvard University, and author of "Imagining Numbers (Particularly the Square Root of Minus Fifteen)" "The lives of ideas (and those who think them) can be as dramatic and unpredicteable as any superhero fantasy. "Logicomix" is witty, engaging, stylish, visually stunning, and full of surprising sound effects, a masterpiece in a genre for which there is as yet no name."--Michael Harris, professor of mathematics at Universite Paris 7 and member of the Institut Universitaire de France

The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Luck (Hardcover): Ian M. Church, Robert J. Hartman The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Luck (Hardcover)
Ian M. Church, Robert J. Hartman
R6,654 Discovery Miles 66 540 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Luck permeates our lives, and this raises a number of pressing questions: What is luck? When we attribute luck to people, circumstances, or events, what are we attributing? Do we have any obligations to mitigate the harms done to people who are less fortunate? And to what extent is deserving praise or blame affected by good or bad luck? Although acquiring a true belief by an uneducated guess involves a kind of luck that precludes knowledge, does all luck undermine knowledge? The academic literature has seen growing, interdisciplinary interest in luck, and this volume brings together and explains the most important areas of this research. It consists of 39 newly commissioned chapters, written by an internationally acclaimed team of philosophers and psychologists, for a readership of students and researchers. Its coverage is divided into six sections: I: The History of Luck II: The Nature of Luck III: Moral Luck IV: Epistemic Luck V: The Psychology of Luck VI: Future Research. The chapters cover a wide range of topics, from the problem of moral luck, to anti-luck epistemology, to the relationship between luck attributions and cognitive biases, to meta-questions regarding the nature of luck itself, to a range of other theoretical and empirical questions. By bringing this research together, the Handbook serves as both a touchstone for understanding the relevant issues and a first port of call for future research on luck.

Mathematicians and their Gods - Interactions between mathematics and religious beliefs (Hardcover): Snezana Lawrence, Mark... Mathematicians and their Gods - Interactions between mathematics and religious beliefs (Hardcover)
Snezana Lawrence, Mark McCartney
R1,456 Discovery Miles 14 560 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

To open a newspaper or turn on the television it would appear that science and religion are polar opposites - mutually exclusive bedfellows competing for hearts and minds. There is little indication of the rich interaction between religion and science throughout history, much of which continues today. From ancient to modern times, mathematicians have played a key role in this interaction. This is a book on the relationship between mathematics and religious beliefs. It aims to show that, throughout scientific history, mathematics has been used to make sense of the 'big' questions of life, and that religious beliefs sometimes drove mathematicians to mathematics to help them make sense of the world. Containing contributions from a wide array of scholars in the fields of philosophy, history of science and history of mathematics, this book shows that the intersection between mathematics and theism is rich in both culture and character. Chapters cover a fascinating range of topics including the Sect of the Pythagoreans, Newton's views on the apocalypse, Charles Dodgson's Anglican faith and Goedel's proof of the existence of God.

Reading Frege's Grundgesetze (Paperback): Richard G. Heck Jr Reading Frege's Grundgesetze (Paperback)
Richard G. Heck Jr
R1,188 Discovery Miles 11 880 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Gottlob Frege's Grundgesetze der Arithmetik, or Basic Laws of Arithmetic, was intended to be his magnum opus, the book in which he would finally establish his logicist philosophy of arithmetic. But because of the disaster of Russell's Paradox, which undermined Frege's proofs, the more mathematical parts of the book have rarely been read. Richard G. Heck, Jr., aims to change that, and establish it as a neglected masterpiece that must be placed at the center of Frege's philosophy. Part I of Reading Frege's Grundgesetze develops an interpretation of the philosophy of logic that informs Grundgesetze, paying especially close attention to the difficult sections of Frege's book in which he discusses his notorious 'Basic Law V' and attempts to secure its status as a law of logic. Part II examines the mathematical basis of Frege's logicism, explaining and exploring Frege's formal arguments. Heck argues that Frege himself knew that his proofs could be reconstructed so as to avoid Russell's Paradox, and presents Frege's arguments in a way that makes them available to a wide audience. He shows, by example, that careful attention to the structure of Frege's arguments, to what he proved, to how he proved it, and even to what he tried to prove but could not, has much to teach us about Frege's philosophy.

Conceptions of Set and the Foundations of Mathematics (Hardcover): Luca Incurvati Conceptions of Set and the Foundations of Mathematics (Hardcover)
Luca Incurvati
R2,555 Discovery Miles 25 550 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Sets are central to mathematics and its foundations, but what are they? In this book Luca Incurvati provides a detailed examination of all the major conceptions of set and discusses their virtues and shortcomings, as well as introducing the fundamentals of the alternative set theories with which these conceptions are associated. He shows that the conceptual landscape includes not only the naive and iterative conceptions but also the limitation of size conception, the definite conception, the stratified conception and the graph conception. In addition, he presents a novel, minimalist account of the iterative conception which does not require the existence of a relation of metaphysical dependence between a set and its members. His book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in logic and the philosophy of mathematics.

Interpreting Goedel - Critical Essays (Hardcover): Juliette Kennedy Interpreting Goedel - Critical Essays (Hardcover)
Juliette Kennedy
R2,661 Discovery Miles 26 610 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The logician Kurt Goedel (1906-1978) published a paper in 1931 formulating what have come to be known as his 'incompleteness theorems', which prove, among other things, that within any formal system with resources sufficient to code arithmetic, questions exist which are neither provable nor disprovable on the basis of the axioms which define the system. These are among the most celebrated results in logic today. In this volume, leading philosophers and mathematicians assess important aspects of Goedel's work on the foundations and philosophy of mathematics. Their essays explore almost every aspect of Godel's intellectual legacy including his concepts of intuition and analyticity, the Completeness Theorem, the set-theoretic multiverse, and the state of mathematical logic today. This groundbreaking volume will be invaluable to students, historians, logicians and philosophers of mathematics who wish to understand the current thinking on these issues.

Ten Great Ideas about Chance (Hardcover): Persi Diaconis, Brian Skyrms Ten Great Ideas about Chance (Hardcover)
Persi Diaconis, Brian Skyrms
R891 Discovery Miles 8 910 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

A fascinating account of the breakthrough ideas that transformed probability and statistics In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, gamblers and mathematicians transformed the idea of chance from a mystery into the discipline of probability, setting the stage for a series of breakthroughs that enabled or transformed innumerable fields, from gambling, mathematics, statistics, economics, and finance to physics and computer science. This book tells the story of ten great ideas about chance and the thinkers who developed them, tracing the philosophical implications of these ideas as well as their mathematical impact. Persi Diaconis and Brian Skyrms begin with Girolamo Cardano, a sixteenth-century physician, mathematician, and professional gambler who helped develop the idea that chance actually can be measured. They describe how later thinkers showed how the judgment of chance also can be measured, how frequency is related to chance, and how chance, judgment, and frequency could be unified. Diaconis and Skyrms explain how Thomas Bayes laid the foundation of modern statistics, and they explore David Hume's problem of induction, Andrey Kolmogorov's general mathematical framework for probability, the application of computability to chance, and why chance is essential to modern physics. A final idea--that we are psychologically predisposed to error when judging chance--is taken up through the work of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Complete with a brief probability refresher, Ten Great Ideas about Chance is certain to be a hit with anyone who wants to understand the secrets of probability and how they were discovered.

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