On the limit of the finite. The Hilbert programme in the context of formalism and finitism (Q441154)

This is both a philosophical and technical survey of finitism. In spite of this competent and thorough presentation, I still find it difficult to understand its attractiveness to mathematicians and logicians, but this book certainly makes all the issues surrounding finitism look interesting. Here is a brief listing of the book's contents. 1. Philosophical and historical background. Part I: The Hilbert programme. 2. Specification and aims. 3. Axiomatic roots. 4. Logicism and intuitionism. 5. Formalism. 6. Finitism. 7. The method of ideal elements. 8. Instrumentalism. Part II. On the execution of the Hilbert programme. 9. Consistency proofs of simpler axiom systems. 10. Ackermann's consistency proof. 11. Intuitionistic and classical number theory: HA and PA. 12. Gentzen's consistency proofs. Part III: The significance of the Hilbert programme. 13. Poincaré's concerns. 14. On Gödel's theorems. 15. On Kreisel's concerns. 16. Resumé. Bibliography.