Polomnožiny a matematika možného

• Authors: Miroslav Holeček

Title variants

EN

Semisets and the Mathematics of the Possible

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

Alternative set theory (AST), or the theory of semisets, the spiritual father of whom is the well-known mathematician Petr Vopěnka, has never received wide recognition and at the present time is subject to neglect. In spite of this, however, it is a conception which is notable for its absolute straightforwardness and for the fundamentally different way in which it mathematises the concept of indeterminacy: the mathematisation of the infinite can be interpreted as an absolutely fundamental mathematisation of the indeterminate. A key role is played by an undetermined grouping – so called semisets. In this article, examples of semisets are discussed in detail and it is shown that semisets should be understood consistently as potentially infinite sets in the spirit of Aristotelian potential infinity. In other words, as sets contain in them a permanent possibility of creating or discovering more and more objects belonging to the given grouping.

Keywords

EN

semisets; alternative set theory; infinity; potential infinity; indeterminacy

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Filosofický časopis (Philosophical Journal)
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 64
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 601-618
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Miroslav Holeček

• Filosofický časopis, redakce, Filosofický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Jilská 1, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic