Philosophy of mathematics after Wittgenstein / Sorin Bangu

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bangu, Sorin, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 1889-1951--Influence.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig.

Mathematics--Philosophy.

Mathematics.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 1889-1951.

Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026

Summary:

"Wittgenstein once said that his aim was to make the philosophical problems 'completely disappear', a remark that has baffled philosophers ever since. In this book, Sorin Bangu reconstructs and defends Wittgenstein's unusual idea, and applies it to the traditional problems in philosophy of mathematics, setting out and explaining the subtleties of what is considered the most difficult area of Wittgenstein's views. He also considers how, according to the later Wittgenstein, we should think of the relation between philosophy and mathematics, articulating Wittgenstein's 'normativist' dissolution strategy and explaining his 'therapeutic' vision of the relation between the two disciplines. His book shows how these controversial views sit within the context of current debates in the philosophy of mathematics, and mounts a detailed and convincing defence of the radical eliminative claim – that philosophy of mathematics after Wittgenstein is devoid of its traditional problems"-- Cambridge Core

Contents:

Introduction : a disappearing act

Wittgenstein’s normativism about mathematics

Normativism as eliminativism : three illustrations

Basic mathematical rules (I) : hardening

Basic mathematical rules (II) : objectivity, agreement, and skepticism

Advanced rules : proofs and concept-formation

Cantor’s proof (I) : a “style of thinking”

Cantor’s proof (II) : reluctant nonrevisionism

Logicism, number, and the infinite

Conclusion : a cleared ground

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Cambridge Core, viewed May 20, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Bangu, Sorin Philosophy of mathematics after Wittgenstein

ISBN:

9781009574938

1009574930

9781009574921

1009574922

OCLC:

1591602436

Publisher Number:

CIPO000377156

CIPO000381737

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license