Asian Initiative for Infinity: Workshop on Infinity and Truth
(25 - 29 Jul 2011)

Jointly funded by the John Templeton Foundation

~ Abstracts ~

The multiverse view in set theory
Joel Hamkins, The City University of New York, USA


I shall outline and defend the Multiverse view in set theory, the view that there are many set-theoretic universes, each instantiating its own concept of set, and contrast it with the Universe view, the view that there is an absolute background set-theoretic universe. In addition, I will discuss some recent set-theoretic developments that have been motivated and informed by a multiverse perspective, including the modal logic of forcing and the emergence of set-theoretic geology.

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Intuition and mathematical objects
Kai Hauser, Technical University of Berlin, Germany


The view that mathematics deals with ideal objects to which we have epistemic access by a kind of perception ('intuition') has troubled many thinkers. Using ideas from Husserl's phenomenology, I will take a fresh look at these matters. The upshot of this approach is that there are non-material objects and that they can be recognized in a process very closely related to ordinary perception. In fact, the perception of physical objects may be regarded as a special case of this more universal way of recognizing objects of any kind.

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