Godel’s Proof and Its Philosophical Ramifications
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Authors
Schirmer, Trent
Date of Issue
2005-04-01
Type
thesis
Language
Subject Keywords
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Abstract
The most significant theorem of 20th century logic was Godel’s incompleteness theorem. In the thesis Godel’s theorem, both how it works and what it means philosophically, is given a penetrating analysis. I explain both the mathematics of Godel’s proof, as it is presented in his paper On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathematica and Related Systems, and the presentation only assumes a basic knowledge of symbolic logic and the patience to follow mathematical arguments on the part of the reader. Preceding the exposition of Godel’s proof is a philosophical discussion of logic, and at the end of the exposition I discuss the proof’s philosophical ramifications.