Mark Steiner (Hebrew University)

The Silent Revolution in Wittgenstein's Thought About Mathematics

Abstract:  During the 1930's the thought of Wittgenstein concerning mathematics underwent significant changes--changes which have been overlooked perhaps because the familiar revolution in his thought, his repudiation of the Tractatus, has overshadowed all other developments.  Yet this "silent revolution," as I call it, was responsible for about-faces in Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematics which are at least as significant as the earlier, "noisy," revolution: particularly concerning the relationship between mathematics and its applications.  Finally, the "silent" revolution came at a time of (and were perhaps a contributing cause of)great personal, medical, and even sexual torment--as we can document, if we consult the "censored" portions of the Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics, which were written in code.