Single Idea 13489

[catalogued under 6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / c. Priority of numbers]

Full Idea

Von Neumann's decision was to start with the ordinals and to treat cardinals as a special sort of ordinal.

Gist of Idea

Von Neumann treated cardinals as a special sort of ordinal

Source

report of John von Neumann (On the Introduction of Transfinite Numbers [1923]) by William D. Hart - The Evolution of Logic 3

Book Reference

Hart,W.D.: 'The Evolution of Logic' [CUP 2010], p.73


A Reaction

[see Hart 73-74 for an explication of this]