Hilbert on the infinite: The role of set theory in the evolution of Hilbert's thought (Q1604656): Difference between revisions

The author traces the history of Hilbert's concern with set theory, which stretched from his correspondence with Cantor in the late 1890s through a lecture course and some papers on metamathematics in the early 1900s to his second and more definitive phase in foundations from the late 1910s to the early 1930s. His contributions include his own paradox, an alternative axiom to that of choice, and efforts to prove the continuum hypothesis. On p. 41 the author states that \textit{H. Weber} was `the first to use set theory in an algebra textbook'. Presumably he means the second edition (1898-1899) of the \textit{Lehrbuch der Algebra} (see JFM 26.0102.01) which is cited by page number on p. 45 though omitted from p. 64 of the bibliography. In any case, priority for this use might be granted to the second edition (1885) of the \textit{Elemente der Arithmetik und Algebra} of \textit{F. Meyer} (see JFM 17.0116.02).