Article ID: CBB000740620

Harvard 1940--1941: Tarski, Carnap and Quine on a Finitistic Language of Mathematics for Science (2005)

unapi

Tarski, Carnap and Quine spent the academic year 1940--1941 together at Harvard. In their autobiographies, both Carnap and Quine highlight the importance of the conversations that took place among them during the year. These conversations centred around semantical issues related to the analytic/synthetic distinction and on the project of a finitist/nominalist construction of mathematics and science. Carnap's Nachlaß in Pittsburgh contains a set of detailed notes, amounting to more than 80 typescripted pages, taken by Carnap while these discussions were taking place. In my article, I present a survey of these notes with special emphasis on Tarski's rejection of the analytic/synthetic distinction, the passage from typed languages to first-order languages, Tarski's finitism/nominalism, and the construction of a finitist language for mathematics and science.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB000740620/

Similar Citations

Book Greg Frost-Arnold; (2013)
Carnap, Tarski, and Quine at Harvard: Conversations on Logic, Mathematics, and Science (/isis/citation/CBB416944911/)

Thesis Frost-Arnold, Gregory G.; (2006)
Carnap, Tarski, and Quine's Year Together: Logic, Mathematics, and Science (/isis/citation/CBB001560950/)

Book Engler, Ole; Iven, Mathias; (2010)
Moritz Schlick: Ursprünge und Entwicklungen seines Denkens (/isis/citation/CBB001032068/)

Book Uebel, Thomas E.; (2007)
Empiricism at the Crossroads: The Vienna Circle's Protocol-Sentence Debate (/isis/citation/CBB001230414/)

Book Jordi Cat; Adam Tamas Tuboly; (2019)
Neurath Reconsidered: New Sources and Perspectives (/isis/citation/CBB378835855/)

Article Richardson, Sarah S.; (2009)
The Left Vienna Circle, Part 1. Carnap, Neurath, and the Left Vienna Circle Thesis (/isis/citation/CBB000931165/)

Article Stone, Abraham D.; (2010)
On the Sources and Implications of Carnap's Der Raum (/isis/citation/CBB001021657/)

Chapter Sandu, Gabriel; Aho, Tuomo; (2009)
Logic and Semantics in the Twentieth Century (/isis/citation/CBB001210354/)

Article Rodríguez Consuegra, Francisco; (1993)
Carnap, Quine, Gödel y la distinción analítico-sintético (/isis/citation/CBB000045275/)

Article Frost-Arnold, Greg; (2011)
Quine's Evolution from “Carnap's Disciple” to the Author of “Two Dogmas” (/isis/citation/CBB001230109/)

Article Manzano, Maria; Alonso, Enrique; (2014)
Completeness: From Gödel to Henkin (/isis/citation/CBB001213927/)

Book Patterson, Douglas; (2008)
New Essays on Tarski and Philosophy (/isis/citation/CBB001232382/)

Book Colyvan, Mark; (2001)
Indispensability of Mathematics (/isis/citation/CBB000102198/)

Book Føllesdal, Dagfinn; (2001)
Philosophy of Quine; V. 5: Logic, Modality and Philosophy of Mathematics (/isis/citation/CBB000102007/)

Authors & Contributors
Frost-Arnold, Gregory G.
Tuboly, Adam Tamas
Wagner, Henri
Uebel, Thomas E.
Stone, Abraham D.
Sandu, Gabriel
Journals
History and Philosophy of Logic
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Mathesis: Filosofía e Historia de las Matemáticas
HOPOS
British Journal for the History of Philosophy
Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Publishers
Open Court
University of California Press
Springer
Parerga Verlag
Oxford University Press
Garland
Concepts
Philosophy
Logic
History of philosophy of science
Philosophy of mathematics
Mathematics
Positivism
People
Carnap, Rudolf
Quine, Willard Van Orman
Tarski, Alfred
Neurath, Otto
Frege, Gottlob
Schlick, Moritz
Time Periods
20th century, early
20th century
19th century
Places
Boston (Massachusetts, U.S.)
Poland
Institutions
Vienna Circle
Harvard University
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment