Related papers: Are random axioms useful?
The proofs of Kleene, Chaitin and Boolos for G\"odel's First Incompleteness Theorem are studied from the perspectives of constructivity and the Rosser property. A proof of the incompleteness theorem has the Rosser property when the…
Incompleteness theorems of Godel, Turing, Chaitin, and Algorithmic Information Theory have profound epistemological implications. Incompleteness limits our ability to ever understand every observable phenomenon in the universe.…
Any system based on axioms is incomplete because the axioms cannot be proven from the system, just believed. But one system can be less-incomplete than other. Neutrosophy is less-incomplete than many other systems because it contains them.…
We prove, for stably computably enumerable formal systems, direct analogues of the first and second incompleteness theorems of G\"odel. A typical stably computably enumerable set is the set of Diophantine equations with no integer…
A proof of G\"odel's incompleteness theorem is given. With this new proof a transfinite extension of G\"odel's theorem is considered. It is shown that if one assumes the set theory ZFC on the meta level as well as on the object level, a…
We argue that it is neither necessary nor sufficient for a mathematical proof to have epistemic value that it be "correct", in the sense of formalizable in a formal proof system. We then present a view on the relationship between…
The 20th century has revealed two important limitations of scientific knowledge. On the one hand, the combination of Poincar\'e's nonlinear dynamics and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle leads to a world picture where physical reality is,…
Goedel's results have had a great impact in diverse fields such as philosophy, computer sciences and fundamentals of mathematics. The fact that the rule of mathematical induction is contradictory with the rest of clauses used by Goedel to…
In this essay we'll prove G\"odel's incompleteness theorems twice. First, we'll prove them the good old-fashioned way. Then we'll repeat the feat in the setting of computation. In the process we'll discover that G\"odel's work, rightly…
We present a coherent collection of finite mathematical theorems some of which can only be proved by going well beyond the usual axioms for mathematics. The proofs of these theorems illustrate in clear terms how one uses the well studied…
It is a widespread belief that results like G\"odel's incompleteness theorems or the intrinsic randomness of quantum mechanics represent fundamental limitations to humanity's strive for scientific knowledge. As the argument goes, there are…
A typical kind of question in mathematical logic is that for the necessity of a certain axiom: Given a proof of some statement $\phi$ in some axiomatic system $T$, one looks for minimal subsystems of $T$ that allow deriving $\phi$. In…
Incomputability results in Formal Logic and the Theory of Computation (i.e., incompleteness and undecidability) have deep implications for the foundations of mathematics and computer science. Likewise, Social Choice Theory, a branch of…
Our main result (Theorem A) shows the incompleteness of any consistent sequential theory T formulated in a finite language such that T is axiomatized by a collection of sentences of bounded quantifier-alternation-depth. Our proof employs an…
We demonstrate that, in itself and in the absence of extra premises, the following argument scheme is fallacious: The sentence A says about itself that it has a certain property F, and A does in fact have the property F; therefore A is…
The overarching theme of the following pages is that mathematical logic -- centered around the incompleteness theorems -- is first and foremost an investigation of $\textit{computation}$, not arithmetic. Guided by this intuition we will…
The fact that the famous Godel incompleteness theorem and the archetype of all logical paradoxes, that of the Liar, are related closely is, of course, not only well known, but is a part of the common knowledge of logician community.…
This paper engages the question "Does the consistency of a set of axioms entail the existence of a model in which they are satisfied?" within the frame of the Frege-Hilbert controversy. The question is related historically to the…
A constructive proof of the Goedel-Rosser incompleteness theorem has been completed using the Coq proof assistant. Some theory of classical first-order logic over an arbitrary language is formalized. A development of primitive recursive…
I investigate the question whether G\"odel's undecidability theorems play a crucial role in the search for a unified theory of physics. I conclude that unless the structure of space-time is fundamentally discrete we can never decide whether…