Philosophy of mathematics and natural science / Hermann Weyl.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weyl, Hermann, 1885-1955, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mathematics--Philosophy.

Mathematics.

Science--Philosophy.

Science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (334 pages)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2009]

Summary:

When mathematician Hermann Weyl decided to write a book on philosophy, he faced what he referred to as "conflicts of conscience"--the objective nature of science, he felt, did not mesh easily with the incredulous, uncertain nature of philosophy. Yet the two disciplines were already intertwined. In Philosophy of Mathematics and Natural Science, Weyl examines how advances in philosophy were led by scientific discoveries--the more humankind understood about the physical world, the more curious we became. The book is divided into two parts, one on mathematics and the other on the physical sciences. Drawing on work by Descartes, Galileo, Hume, Kant, Leibniz, and Newton, Weyl provides readers with a guide to understanding science through the lens of philosophy. This is a book that no one but Weyl could have written--and, indeed, no one has written anything quite like it since.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

Preface

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Part One. Mathematics

CHAPTER I Mathematical Logic, Axiomatics

CHAPTER II Number and Continuum, the Infinite

CHAPTER III Geometry

Part Two. Natural Science

CHAPTER I Space and Time, the Transcendental External World

CHAPTER II Methodology

CHAPTER III The Physical Picture of the World

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A The Structure of Mathematics

APPENDIX B Ars Combinatoria

APPENDIX C: Quantum Physics and Causality

APPENDIX D Chemical Valence and the Hierarchy of Structures

APPENDIX E Physics and Biology

APPENDIX F The Main Features of the Physical World; Morphe and Evolution

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781400833337

1400833337

OCLC:

1264476936