WITTGENSTEIN'S REMARKS ON GÖDEL'S THEOREM

Abstract

The project aims at providing a rigorous and unitary analysis of Wittgenstein's late remarks on Gödel's theorem compatible with the author's mature philosophy. Despite the initial negative reception of these remarks (which helped to create a gulf between the philosopher's observations about language/psychology and his observations about mathematics), recent works has appeared with with the purpose of contextualizing and offering a more positive reading of Wittgenstein's observations on Gödel, showing that the negative assessment of these remarks were the product of an inaccurate reading of the passages and a lack of philosophical background necessary for their proper understanding. In general, these works end up including, in the course of the explanation, texts of the "middle period" of Wittgenstein's philosophy, which of course raises the question of the legitimacy of this textual transposition. Thus, it is necessary a historical research that allows a better understanding of the evolution of Wittgenstein's ideas about mathematics in order to establish points of continuity and rupture with regard with his discussions on the matter. One such investigation, besides allowing a reading of Wittgenstein's remarks on Gödel more coherent with the rest of his mature philosophy, would enable one to treat with clarity the question of the relation of the evolution of Wittgenstein's ideas about mathematics and language.