3:30 pm, Seminar Hall
The origins of the axiomatic method: the conceptual framework of Aristotle's logic
Sriram Nambiar

26-03-14

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Abstract

In this lecture I highlight the explicit requirements for the axiomatisation of a subject-matter set down by Aristotle, occasionally contrasting it with the organisation of Euclid's Elements. My primary goal is to give an exposition of the current understanding of the conceptual framework of Aristotle's logical methodology. To provoke speculation on the contrast with the conceptual frameworks of modern logic around 1930, I end with a formulation, within Aristotle's framework, of Godel's unprovability result on the limitations of axiomatic systems.