Popular Lectures on Mathematical Logic

Anotedlogicianandphilosopheraddressesvariousformsofmathematicallogic,discussingboththeoreticalunderpinningsandpracticalapplications.AuthorHaoWangsurveysthecentralconceptsandtheoriesofthedisciplineinahistoricalanddevelopmentalcontext,andthenfocusesonthefourprincipaldomainsofcontemporarymathematicallogic:settheory,modeltheory,recursiontheoryandconstructivism,andprooftheory.
Topicsincludetheplaceofproblemsinthedevelopmentoftheoriesoflogicandlogic'srelationtocomputerscience.SpecificattentionisgiventoGödel'sincompletenesstheorems,predicatelogicanditsdecisionandreductionproblems,constructibilityandCantor'scontinuumhypothesis,prooftheoryandHilbert'sprogram,hierarchiesandunification,proofofthefour-colorproblem,theDiophantineproblem,thetautologyproblem,andmanyothersubjects.ThreehelpfulAppendixesconcludethetext.