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18170 | The Axiom of Reducibility is self-effacing: if true, it isn't needed |
Full Idea: The Axiom of Reducibility is self-effacing: if it is true, the ramification it is meant to cope with was pointless to begin with. | |||
From: Willard Quine (Introduction to Russell's Theory of Types [1967], p.152), quoted by Penelope Maddy - Naturalism in Mathematics I.1 | |||
A reaction: Maddy says the rejection of Reducibility collapsed the ramified theory of types into the simple theory. |