Hermann Weyl

Hermann Weyl (November 9 1885 - December 8 1955) was a German mathematician. Although much of his working life was spent in Zürich and then Princeton, he is closely identified with the University of Göttingen tradition of mathematics, represented by David Hilbert and Hermann Minkowski. His research has had major significance for theoretical physics as well as pure disciplines including number theory. He was one of the most influential mathematicians of the twentieth century, and a key member of the Institute for Advanced Study in its early years, in terms of creating an integrated and international view.

Foundations of mathematics

He became very interested in the foundational questions raised by the intuitionists. George Pólya and Weyl, during a mathematicians' gathering in Zürich (February 9, 1918), made a bet concerning the future direction of mathematics. Weyl predicted that in the subsequent 20 years, mathematicians would come to realize the total vagueness of notions such as real numbers, sets, and countability, and moreover, that asking about the truth or falsity of the least upper bound property of the real numbers was as meaningful as asking about truth of the basic assertions of Georg Hegel on the philosophy of nature.

Related Topics:
Intuitionist - George Pólya - Bet - Real number - Set - Countability - Truth - Least upper bound - Property - Georg Hegel

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The existence of this bet is documented in a letter discovered by Yuri Gurevich in 1995, and it is said that when the friendly bet ended, the individuals gathered cited Pólya as the victor (with Kurt Gödel not in concurrence). After about 1928 Weyl had apparently decided that mathematical intuitionism was not to be reconciled with his enthusiasm for the thought of Husserl.

Related Topics:
Yuri Gurevich - Kurt Gödel - Husserl

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