Georg Cantor and Pope Leo XIII: Mathematics, Theology, and the Infinite

Dauben, Joseph W.

doi:10.2307/2708842

Cited by 56 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Constructive mathematics drops the convenient assumption that God will provide us with all needed sets and replaces it with the requirement that all mathematical objects be constructed. 2 That is, if you are going to assert the "existence" of the object, you must show us 2 See Dauben, 1977 for a discussion of the theological significance Cantor attached to his theory of transfinite numbers. In Cantor's "strong form of Platonism," Dauben explains, "the Transfinitum, all the transfinite numbers, existed as eternal ideas" in the "Divine Intellect" and this existence in God's mind ensured the reality of transfinite numbers (p. 95).…”

Section: Through the Looking Glassmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking impossible things: A review essay

Koppl

2008

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Through the Looking Glassmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking impossible things: A review essay

Koppl

2008

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Historically many theists, first among them George Cantor, have seen the existence of infinite sets, along with other key axioms, as implying God's existence. The Catholic Church at the time even embraced Cantor's ideas, as is evidenced by (Dauben, 1977). However, there is no clear obligation for the atheist to embrace a finitist's position.…”

Section: The Refined Version Of the "Spectrum Of Theistic Probabilitimentioning

confidence: 99%

A Refinement of Bertrand Russell’s Celestial Teacup Analogy and Richard Dawkins’ “Spectrum of Theistic Probabilities”

Burchett¹

2019

OJPP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper the theological views of both Richard Dawkins and Bertrand Russell are refined to make them more precise and consistent. Russell points famously to an example of a celestial teacup as an analogy for the existence of God. More specifically the analogy is used to argue against attempts to shift the burden of proof against the sceptic. In his book The God Delusion, Dawkins picks up on this example and uses it as a foundation to argue against agnosticism. While Dawkins' larger framework for considering the existence of God may or may not be appropriate, it is important that the refinements are emphasized to make the arguments clear. In short his "Spectrum of Theistic Probabilities", as introduced in his book The God Delusion, is adapted to include the consideration of infinite sets. This consideration makes Dawkins' own expressions of his viewpoint, and the teacup analogy more consistent-as Dawkins' categorization of his own views seem to push the use of the spectrum to its limit. For example, he claims his views don't fall precisely onto one of the 7 milestones of his spectrum. The author offers a correction of this by categorizing Dawkins' own views neatly onto one of the refined milestones.

show abstract

“…God is not ignorant of any possible mathematical object. Cantor used this principle to justify the existence of infinite numbers and sets (Dauben, 1977).…”

Section: The Knowledge Of Godmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For Cantor, theology was a part of the inspiration for his mathematics (see Hallett, 1988: ch. 1;Dauben, 1977). By using classical theism, we do not mean to exclude other theologies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Mathematical Model of Divine Infinity

Steinhart¹

2009

Theology and Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mathematics is obviously important in the sciences. And so it is likely to be equally important in any effort that aims to understand God in a scientifically significant way or that aims to clarify the relations between science and theology. The degree to which God has any perfection is absolutely infinite. We use contemporary mathematics to precisely define that absolute infinity. For any perfection, we use transfinite recursion to define an endlessly ascending series of degrees of that perfection. That series rises to an absolutely infinite degree of that perfection. God has that absolutely infinite degree. We focus on the perfections of knowledge, power, and benevolence. Our model of divine infinity thus builds a bridge between mathematics and theology.

show abstract

Georg Cantor and Pope Leo XIII: Mathematics, Theology, and the Infinite

Cited by 56 publications

References 0 publications

Thinking impossible things: A review essay

Thinking impossible things: A review essay

A Refinement of Bertrand Russell’s Celestial Teacup Analogy and Richard Dawkins’ “Spectrum of Theistic Probabilities”

A Mathematical Model of Divine Infinity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About