Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Mahaprajnaparamitashastra', 'Presidential Address of Am. Math. Soc' and 'Russell'

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4 ideas

5. Theory of Logic / A. Overview of Logic / 2. History of Logic
10247 We have no adequate logic at the moment, so mathematicians must create one [Veblen]
     Full Idea: Formal logic has to be taken over by mathematicians. The fact is that there does not exist an adequate logic at the present time, and unless the mathematicians create one, no one else is likely to do so.
     From: Oswald Veblen (Presidential Address of Am. Math. Soc [1924], 141), quoted by Stewart Shapiro - Philosophy of Mathematics
     A reaction: This remark was made well after Frege, but before the advent of Gödel and Tarski. That implies that he was really thinking of meta-logic.
6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 6. Logicism / a. Early logicism
6408 Russell needed three extra axioms to reduce maths to logic: infinity, choice and reducibility [Grayling]
     Full Idea: In order to deduce the theorems of mathematics from purely logical axioms, Russell had to add three new axioms to those of standards logic, which were: the axiom of infinity, the axiom of choice, and the axiom of reducibility.
     From: A.C. Grayling (Russell [1996], Ch.2)
     A reaction: The third one was adopted to avoid his 'barber' paradox, but many thinkers do not accept it. The interesting question is why anyone would 'accept' or 'reject' an axiom.
12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 2. Self-Evidence
6414 Two propositions might seem self-evident, but contradict one another [Grayling]
     Full Idea: Two propositions might contradict each other despite appearing self-evident when considered separately.
     From: A.C. Grayling (Russell [1996], Ch.2)
     A reaction: Russell's proposal (Idea 5416) is important here, that self-evidence comes in degrees. If self-evidence was all-or-nothing, Grayling's point would be a major problem, but it isn't. Bonjour explores the idea more fully (e.g. Idea 3704)
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / a. Virtues
7903 The six perfections are giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom [Nagarjuna]
     Full Idea: The six perfections are of giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom.
     From: Nagarjuna (Mahaprajnaparamitashastra [c.120], 88)
     A reaction: What is 'morality', if giving is not part of it? I like patience and vigour being two of the virtues, which immediately implies an Aristotelian mean (which is always what is 'appropriate').