Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy (Classic Reprint)

Groundbreaking in its day the aim of this fantastic, if dated book by renowned philosopher Bertrand Russell is nothing less than to demonstrate that all of mathematics is describable by a single system of logic. It does so in a way which, while not simplistic, is still accessible to anyone willing to put in some thought. A foundation in logic and philosophy would certainly be a help when reading this book however.

This approach was later demonstrated to be impossible, with Kurt Godel's incompleteness theorems proving that for any consistent logical system there are some problems which cannot be solved within that system. Godel's work would not have been the same without these earlier attempts however, so they provide an essential context for understanding these later developments.

This does not mean that Russell's work is devoid of insight or use for its own sake however, as most of the individual sections as well as the history of mathematical philosophy are very valuable. Those whose interest is piqued by this book may wish to move on to Russell and Whitehead's Principia Mathematica for a more difficult and in depth work.

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.