Definition:Intuitionism
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Definition
Intuitionism is the philosophical position that mathematical objects are mental entities that cannot exist independently of our ability to prove their existence using a finite number of steps.
Hence a mathematical statement is true only if it can be proved to be so using a finite process.
Intuitionism also rejects the concept of impredicative definitions.
Also see
- Results about intuitionism can be found here.
Historical Note
Intuitionism was originated by Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer.
Sources
- 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): intuitionism
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): constructive
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): intuitionism