Re:Against Set Theory (2005) [pdf]
by whatshisface on Saturday May 16, 2020 @11:47PM
(#23209414)
>But the situation also isn't specific to set theory. Any formal system is going to be subject to this "problem"
I think that part of the author's point can be read generously as, "no formal system can satisfy philosophy's pseudo-religious search for truth evident in itself."
Re:Against Set Theory (2005) [pdf]
by eli_gottlieb on Sunday May 17, 2020 @12:14PM
(#23212914)
Well, that's a problem for the pseudo-religious search, not for mathematics.
I don't think it really matters whether he's talking set theory or category theory because the way he talks about set theory implies to me he'd have similar problems with category theory.
For example, he describes the result of Godel and Kohen, who together showed the continuum hypothesis is independent of ZFC, as being a failure/problem of ZFC. It's not. That you have significant theories that are independent of a given axiom system is a product of Godel's theorem. Modern mathematics operates with the assumption that most theories are true, false or unprovable.
But the situation also isn't specific to set theory. Any formal system is going to be subject to this "problem"
The thing is this state of affairs isn't appealing to the intuition. Godel himself was unhappy with his result. But it is basically inevitable if you get to the level of rigor of a formal system.