Lauener Foundation for Analytical Philosophy
Symposium
Thursday 27 May 2010
Bern, Switzerland
4th International Lauener Symposium
on Analytical Philosophy
In Honour of Professor Sir Michael Dummett
Prof. Dr. Dagfinn Føllesdal
((Stanford University / Universitetet i Oslo))
Are There Non-Material Objects and If So, How Can They Be Known? Husserl and Gödel
It is not widely known that there was a connection between Husserl and Gödel. Gödel’s Nachlass shows, however, that Gödel studied Husserl’s work carefully and regarded it highly. After a brief presentation of Husserl’s view on mathematical objects and on justification in mathematics I will discuss Gödel’s view on these two themes. I will devote special attention to Gödel’s realism and the relation between this and the constructivist view that one finds in Husserl. Gödel’s view on mathematical intuition will be discussed and compared to that of Husserl. In particular we will look closely at his view that mathematical intuition and perception of physical objects are very similar to one another.
