Promotional Information

Special anniversary edition of the best-selling book that challenges basic assumptions of logic

Table of Contents

Contents Foreword to the New Edition by Douglas R. Hofstadter ix Acknowledgments xxiii i Introduction 1 ii The Problem of Consistency 7 iii Absolute Proofs of Consistency 25 iv The Systematic Codification of Formal Logic 37 v An Example of a Successful Absolute Proof of Consistency 45 vi The Idea of Mapping and Its Use in Mathematics 57 vii Godel's Proofs 68 a Godel numbering 68 b The arithmetization of meta-mathematics 80 c The heart of Godel's argument 92 viii Concluding Reflections 109 Appendix: Notes 114 Brief Bibliography 125 Index 127

About the Author

Ernest Nagel was John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. James R. Newman was the author of What is Science. Douglas R. Hofstadter is College of Arts and Sciences Professor of computer science and cognitive science at Indiana University and author of the Pulitzer-prize winning Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.

Reviews

"A little masterpiece of exegesis. Nature An excellent non-technical account of the substance of Gdels celebrated paper. Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society