Truth and mathematics Cover Image

Prawda a matematyka
Truth and mathematics

Author(s): Anna Lemańska
Subject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
Keywords: truth

Summary/Abstract: In the article the problem of truth in mathematics is presented by the example of the six following statements: 1. The continuum hypothesis. 2. The sum of angles in any triangle is equal to the sum of two right angles. 3. Every even natural number greater than 2 is the sum of two primes. 4. Every map could be coloured with four colours. 5. 2+2=4. The analyses carried out in the article show that in mathematics truth can be understood in various manners. We can use different criteria of truth: classical, coherence, pragmatic and others, so in mathematics truth is revealing different faces. Certain sentences are true only in a sense of coherence, but there exist such sentences, as for example truths of arithmetic, which are true independently of axiomatic systems, culture or any other factors.

  • Issue Year: 46/2010
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 37-54
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish