Single Idea 6423

[catalogued under 6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 6. Logicism / a. Early logicism]

Full Idea

The primary aim of our 'Principia Mathematica' was to show that all pure mathematics follows from purely logical premisses and uses only concepts definable in logical terms.

Gist of Idea

We tried to define all of pure maths using logical premisses and concepts

Source

Bertrand Russell (My Philosophical Development [1959], Ch.7)

Book Reference

Russell,Bertrand: 'My Philosophical Development' [Routledge 1993], p.57


A Reaction

This spells out the main programme of logicism, by its great hero, Russell. The big question now is whether Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems have succeeded in disproving logicism.