[FOM] Goedel on Philosophy

[Bob Hadley]

 In my view, there has been a great deal of progress in Philosophy
 within the past 150 years, but the progress must be judged by standards
 different from those which Goedel apparently had in mind.  Comparatively few
 areas of study in Philosophy benefit from the kind of rigorous formalization
 found in meta-mathematics.  Moreover, care must be taken to avoid
 "mindless formalism" when one attempts to translate philosophical
 arguments into symbolic logic.

 Even where such formalization is fruitful, substantial debate often persists
 concerning the truth of the fundamental premises involved.  This is true, for 
 example, in the realm of "epistemic logics".

 On the positive side, in terms of the degree of subtlety in the
 analysis of concepts
 and in the formation of  new conjectures and theories (for example
 in Philosophy of Mind) there has been substantial progress.  Also,
 in the view of many philosophers steeped in the British Analytical
 tradition, the degree of rigour expected in published argumentation increased 
 dramatically, at least beginning with the influence of Russell and Moore,
 in the past century.

 Regards,

 Bob Hadley


> http://www.ucalgary.ca/~rzach/logblog/2007/02/gdel-quote.html
> 
> "Today, philosophy has arrived, at best, at the point mathematics was at in
> Babylonian times."
> 
> This is in exact correspondence with what Goedel said to me when I visited
> him for two weeks in 1977, about six months before he died in January, 1978.
> 
> My overall impression was that Goedel felt that Philosophy would have a very
> bright future - like mathematics - only that it is very difficult to make
> substantial progress.
> 
> Note that, at least implicitly, Goedel suggests that progress in Philosophy
> can be judged - judged in such a way that can be compared to progress in
> mathematics. 
> 
> Many Philosophers that I know do not believe in such a notion of "progress"
> in philosophy.
> 
> I am wondering what FOM subscribers think about this.
> 
> Harvey Friedman
> 
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