Logicism and its Philosophical Legacy

By William Demopoulos

Book Overview

The idea that mathematics is reducible to logic has a long history, but it was Frege who gave logicism an articulation and defense that transformed it into a distinctive philosophical thesis with a profound influence on the development of philosophy in the twentieth century. This volume of classic, revised and newly written essays by William Demopoulos examines logicism's principal legacy for philosophy: its elaboration of notions of analysis and reconstruction. The essays reflect on the deployment of these ideas by the principal figures in the history of the subject - Frege, Russell, Ramsey and Carnap - and in doing so illuminate current concerns about the nature of mathematical and theoretical knowledge. Issues addressed include the nature of arithmetical knowledge in the light of Frege's theorem; the status of realism about the theoretical entities of physics; and the proper interpretation of empirical theories that postulate abstract structural constraints.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1107029805
• ISBN13: 9781107029804
• Release Date: February 2013
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 281 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.1"