Distinguished Lecture Investigates Nature of Mathematics
Dr. Klaus Truemper, professor emeritus of computer science, recently delivered an Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Distinguished Lecture.Truemper’s talk, “Wittgenstein's Philosophy and the Creation Versus Discovery Question of Mathematics” explored whether the field of mathematics was created by man, or something innate in the world which was discovered.
“There is a profound philosophical question: Where do all the results of mathematics theory come from?” Truemper asked. “Are they already present in some hidden, possibly metaphysical location and then discovered by inquisitive minds? Or, are they created in the same way that engineers design various machines for energy conversion, production of goods or transportation?”