On Ramsey’s reason to amend Principia Mathematica’s logicism and Wittgenstein’s reaction

In the Foundations of Mathematics (1925), Ramsey attempted to amend Principia Mathematica’s logicism to meet serious objections raised against it. While Ramsey’s paper is well known, some questions concerning Ramsey’s motivations to write it and its reception still remain. This paper considers these...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Synthese (Dordrecht) 2021-12, Vol.199 (1/2), p.2629-2646
Main Author: Nakano, Anderson
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Education
Epistemology
Evidence
Identity
Logic
Mathematics
Metaphysics
Philosophy
Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of Science
Wittgenstein, Ludwig (1889-1951)
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Summary:In the Foundations of Mathematics (1925), Ramsey attempted to amend Principia Mathematica’s logicism to meet serious objections raised against it. While Ramsey’s paper is well known, some questions concerning Ramsey’s motivations to write it and its reception still remain. This paper considers these questions afresh. First, an account is provided for why Ramsey decided to work on his paper instead of simply accepting Wittgenstein’s account of mathematics as presented in the Tractatus. Secondly, evidence is given supporting that Wittgenstein was not moved by Ramsey’s objection against the Tractarian account of arithmetic, and a suggestion is made to explain why Wittgenstein reconsidered Ramsey’s account in the early thirties on several occasions. Finally, a reading is formulated to understand the basis on which Wittgenstein argues against Ramsey’s definition of identity in his 1927 letter to Ramsey.
ISSN:0039-7857
1573-0964
DOI:10.1007/s11229-020-02903-w