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Ideas for 'Deflationary Metaontology of Thomasson', 'Set Theory and Its Philosophy' and 'Rationality'

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5 ideas

4. Formal Logic / F. Set Theory ST / 1. Set Theory
10702 Set theory's three roles: taming the infinite, subject-matter of mathematics, and modes of reasoning [Potter]
     Full Idea: Set theory has three roles: as a means of taming the infinite, as a supplier of the subject-matter of mathematics, and as a source of its modes of reasoning.
     From: Michael Potter (Set Theory and Its Philosophy [2004], Intro 1)
     A reaction: These all seem to be connected with mathematics, but there is also ontological interest in set theory. Potter emphasises that his second role does not entail a commitment to sets 'being' numbers.
4. Formal Logic / F. Set Theory ST / 3. Types of Set / b. Empty (Null) Set
10713 Usually the only reason given for accepting the empty set is convenience [Potter]
     Full Idea: It is rare to find any direct reason given for believing that the empty set exists, except for variants of Dedekind's argument from convenience.
     From: Michael Potter (Set Theory and Its Philosophy [2004], 04.3)
4. Formal Logic / F. Set Theory ST / 4. Axioms for Sets / f. Axiom of Infinity V
13044 Infinity: There is at least one limit level [Potter]
     Full Idea: Axiom of Infinity: There is at least one limit level.
     From: Michael Potter (Set Theory and Its Philosophy [2004], 04.9)
     A reaction: A 'limit ordinal' is one which has successors, but no predecessors. The axiom just says there is at least one infinity.
4. Formal Logic / F. Set Theory ST / 5. Conceptions of Set / e. Iterative sets
10708 Nowadays we derive our conception of collections from the dependence between them [Potter]
     Full Idea: It is only quite recently that the idea has emerged of deriving our conception of collections from a relation of dependence between them.
     From: Michael Potter (Set Theory and Its Philosophy [2004], 03.2)
     A reaction: This is the 'iterative' view of sets, which he traces back to Gödel's 'What is Cantor's Continuum Problem?'
4. Formal Logic / F. Set Theory ST / 5. Conceptions of Set / f. Limitation of Size
13546 The 'limitation of size' principles say whether properties collectivise depends on the number of objects [Potter]
     Full Idea: We group under the heading 'limitation of size' those principles which classify properties as collectivizing or not according to how many objects there are with the property.
     From: Michael Potter (Set Theory and Its Philosophy [2004], 13.5)
     A reaction: The idea was floated by Cantor, toyed with by Russell (1906), and advocated by von Neumann. The thought is simply that paradoxes start to appear when sets become enormous.