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2 - The Iterative Conception

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2020

Luca Incurvati
Affiliation:
Universiteit van Amsterdam
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Summary

The chapter introduces the iterative conception, according to which every set appears at one level or another of the mathematical structure known as the cumulative hierarchy, as well as theories based on the conception. The chapter presents various accounts of the iterative conception: the constructivist account, the dependency account and my own minimalist account. It is argued that the minimalist account is to be preferred to the others. A method – which I call inference to the best conception – is then described to defend the correctness of the iterative conception so understood. This method requires one to show that the iterative conception fares better than other conceptions with respect to a number of desiderata on conceptions of set. This provides additional motivation for exploring alternative conceptions of set in the remainder of the book.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • The Iterative Conception
  • Luca Incurvati, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: Conceptions of Set and the Foundations of Mathematics
  • Online publication: 09 January 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108596961.003
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  • The Iterative Conception
  • Luca Incurvati, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: Conceptions of Set and the Foundations of Mathematics
  • Online publication: 09 January 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108596961.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Iterative Conception
  • Luca Incurvati, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: Conceptions of Set and the Foundations of Mathematics
  • Online publication: 09 January 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108596961.003
Available formats
×