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Single Idea 9195

[filed under theme 5. Theory of Logic / D. Assumptions for Logic / 2. Excluded Middle ]

Full Idea

It must not be concluded from the rejection of excluded middle that intuitionistic logic operates with three values: true, false, and neither true nor false. It does not make use of true and false, but only with a construction being a proof.

Gist of Idea

Intuitionists reject excluded middle, not for a third value, but for possibility of proof

Source

Michael Dummett (The Philosophy of Mathematics [1998], 8.1)

Book Ref

'Philosophy 2: further through the subject', ed/tr. Grayling,A.C. [OUP 1998], p.178


A Reaction

This just sounds like verificationism to me, with all its problems. It seems to make speculative statements meaningless, which can't be right. Realism has lots of propositions which are assumed to be true or false, but also unknowable.

Related Idea

Idea 15941 For intuitionists excluded middle is an outdated historical convention [Brouwer]


The 7 ideas from 'The Philosophy of Mathematics'

First-order logic concerns objects; second-order adds properties, kinds, relations and functions [Dummett]
Logical truths and inference are characterized either syntactically or semantically [Dummett]
Ordinals seem more basic than cardinals, since we count objects in sequence [Dummett]
The number 4 has different positions in the naturals and the wholes, with the same structure [Dummett]
ZF set theory has variables which range over sets, 'equals' and 'member', and extensionality [Dummett]
The main alternative to ZF is one which includes looser classes as well as sets [Dummett]
Intuitionists reject excluded middle, not for a third value, but for possibility of proof [Dummett]