V= L and intuitive plausibility in set theory. A case study

T Arrigoni - Bulletin of Symbolic Logic, 2011 - cambridge.org
T Arrigoni
Bulletin of Symbolic Logic, 2011cambridge.org
What counts as an intuitively plausible set theoretic content (notion, axiom or theorem) has
been a matter of much debate in contemporary philosophy of mathematics. In this paper I
develop a critical appraisal of the issue. I analyze first RB Jensen's positions on the
epistemic status of the axiom of constructibility. I then formulate and discuss a view of
intuitiveness in set theory that assumes it to hinge basically on mathematical success. At the
same time, I present accounts of set theoretic axioms and theorems formulated in non-strictly …
What counts as an intuitively plausible set theoretic content (notion, axiom or theorem) has been a matter of much debate in contemporary philosophy of mathematics. In this paper I develop a critical appraisal of the issue. I analyze first R. B. Jensen's positions on the epistemic status of the axiom of constructibility. I then formulate and discuss a view of intuitiveness in set theory that assumes it to hinge basically on mathematical success. At the same time, I present accounts of set theoretic axioms and theorems formulated in non-strictly mathematical terms, e.g., by appealing to the iterative concept of set and/or to overall methodological principles, like unify and maximize, and investigate the relation of the latter to success in mathematics.
Cambridge University Press