Single Idea 5897

[catalogued under 6. Mathematics / B. Foundations for Mathematics / 4. Axioms for Number / d. Peano arithmetic]

Full Idea

1) 0 is a number; 2) The successor of any number is a number; 3) No two numbers have the same successor; 4) 0 is not the successor of any number; 5) If P is true of 0, and if P is true of any number n and of its successor, P is true of every number.

Gist of Idea

0 is a non-successor number, all successors are numbers, successors can't duplicate, if P(n) and P(n+1) then P(all-n)

Source

report of Giuseppe Peano (works [1890]) by Antony Flew - Pan Dictionary of Philosophy 'Peano'

Book Reference

Flew,Antony: 'A Dictionary of Philosophy', ed/tr. Speake,Jennifer [Pan 1979], p.245


A Reaction

Devised by Dedekind and proposed by Peano, these postulates were intended to avoid references to intuition in specifying the natural numbers. I wonder if they could define 'successor' without reference to 'number'.