Heyting and Intuitionistic Geometry

Authors: D van Dalen

Publish Date: 1990

Volume: , Issue: , Pages: 19-27

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Abstract

It may seem strange that the second fully committed intuitionist in mathematics entered his career with a treatise on axiomatic geometry for axiomatics did have a formalist flavour and one cannot suspect Brouwer Heyting’s teacher of leanings in that specific direction There are a number of possible explanations for the choice of this particular topic — which by the way had been suggested by Brouwer One of them is Brouwer’s own interest in the foundations of geometry in the PaschHilbertstyle his PhDThesis contained a good deal of geometry and he regularly lectured on the foundations of geometry His inaugural address as a “privaat docent” bore the title “The nature of geometry” Hence it is not all that surprising that Heyting choose the intuitionistic foundations as a topic for his PhDthesis

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