From Frege to Goedel: A source book in mathematical logic, 1879-1931

Jean van Heijenoort0674324498, 9780674324497

Gathered together in this book are the fundamental texts of the great classical period in modern logic. A complete translation of Gottlob Frege’s Begriffsschrift–which opened a great epoch in the history of logic by fully presenting propositional calculus and quantification theory–begins the volume. The texts that follow depict the emergence of set theory and foundations of mathematics, two new fields on the borders of logic, mathematics, and philosophy. Essays trace the trends that led to Principia mathematica, the appearance of modern paradoxes, and topics including proof theory, the theory of types, axiomatic set theory, and Löwenheim’s theorem. The volume concludes with papers by Herbrand and by Gödel, including the latter’s famous incompleteness paper. “There can be no doubt that the book is a valuable contribution to the logical literature and that it will certainly spread the knowledge of mathematical logic and its history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.” –Andrzej Mostowski, Synthese “It is difficult to describe this book without praising it…[From Frege to Gödel] is, in effect, the record of an important chapter in the history of thought. No serious student of logic or foundations of mathematics will want to be without it.” –Review of Metaphysics