Why math’s final axiom proved so controversial
Why math’s final axiom proved so controversial
- April 29, 2026
- Penelope Maddy, logic & philosophy of science, quoted in Quanta Magazine
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How do mathematicians decide that something is true? They write a proof. … At some point, things are simply true simply because they are. These truths are the axioms, the ground rules. And it is tempting to stop there—to declare, as Penelope Maddy, a [Distinguished Professor Emeritus] and philosopher of mathematics at the University of California, Irvine, put it, “that axioms are obvious or intuitive or conceptual truths.”
For the full story, please visit Quanta Magazine.
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