John Humphrey
Department of Philosophy
Mankato State University
Mankato, MN,
56001
Office Ph.: (507) 389-5517
Office Fax: (507) 389-5887
e-mail: john_humphrey@ms1.mankato.msus.edu
United States Air Force (1973-1977); trained as a Vietnamese linguist at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.
Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Mathematics: The Search for a Clear View. I argue that Wittgenstein's later writings on mathematics have been misinterpreted as just one more position competing for supremacy in the philosophy of mathematics. I defend the claim that Wittgenstein sought a "clear view" of our mathematics rather than a "clear theory" of our mathematics. Briefly put, Wittgenstein's work is best seen as a motley of criticisms aimed at specific targets, including Logicism, Formalism, Platonism, Conventionalism, Intuitionism and Empiricism. Also, I examine critically the remarks aimed at Cantor's work on infinity, Dedekind cuts, and Goedel's incompleteness theorems. I show that Wittgenstein is neither radical conventionalist nor rule-sceptic nor strict finitist by considering the relevant commentaries on Wittgenstein's work, which include those of Dummett, Kripke, and Keilkopf, et. al.
- Logic
- Philosophy of Language
- Philosophy of Mathematics
- Wittgenstein
Areas of Competence
- 20th-Century Philosophy (Analytic Tradition)
- Pragmatism
- Plato
- Ancient Philosophy
- Business Ethics.
- Introduction to Philosophy
- Business Ethics
- Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking
- Critical Thinking
- Symbolic Logic
- Philosophy of Mathematics
- Introduction to Ethics
- Contemporary Philosophy
- Philosophy of Language
- Ancient Philosophy
- American Philosophy
- Eastern Philosophy
- Philosophy and Literature
- Introduction to Logic
- Symbolic Logic
- Introduction to Aesthetics/Philosophy of Architecture
- American Philosophical Association (1986 to present)
- Minnesota Philosophical Society (1988 to present)
- "Some Objections to Garavaso's Wittgenstein",The Southern Journal of Philosophy (1991) Volume XXIX, No. 3.
- "Some Objections to Putnam's "Consistency Objection"", Journal of Philosophical Research, Vol. xviii, 1993.
- "Kripke's Wittgenstein and the Impossibility of Private Language: The Same Old Story?", Journal of Philosophical Research, Jan. 1996.
- "Kripke's Wittgenstein, Quine, simplicity and sceptical solutions", The Southern Journal of Philosophy (1999) Volume XXXVII, No. 1.
- Presented "The Philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein" (with Dick Leibendorfor) at a colloquium at Mankato State University, Fall 89.
- Presented "Abortion and the Facts" at a meeting of the Philosophy Club at Mankato State University, Winter 90.
- Presented "An examination of Putnam's 'Consistency Objection and its importance for Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematics" at the Minnesota Philosophical Society meeting in Oct. 90 at The College of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
- Presented "An examination of Putnam's 'Consistency Objection and its importance for Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematics" at a joint meeting of the Central States Philosophical Association and the Illinois Philosophical Society at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Nov. 90.
- Presented "A Plea for Tolerance" for a joint meeting for the MSU philosophy club and SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation), April 1990.
- Presented "Hume, Kripke's Hume and Private Causation" at the Minnesota Philosophical Society meeting in Oct. 91 at University of Minnesota at Duluth.
- Presented "Kripke's Wittgenstein and the Impossibility of Private Language: The Same Old Story?" at the Minnesota Philosophical Society meeting in Oct. 92 at Macalester College.
- Presented "Kripke's Wittgenstein and the Impossibility of Private Language: The Same Old Story?" to the Central Division of the American Philosophical Society in Chicago (April 93).
- Presented "Do we really need a "sceptical solution" to the sceptical
paradox? A closer look at Kripke's account of Wittgenstein" at the Minnesota Philosophical Society meeting in Oct. 94 at The College of St. Catherine.- Presented "Kripke's legeredemain . . ." to the Central Division of the American Philosophical Society in Chicago (April 96).
- Presented "Kripke's sceptic and simplicity considerations" to the Minnesota Philosophical Society meeting in Oct. 98, St. Thomas University.
- Commentary on "Monadic Adverbalism" at the Minnesota Philosophical Society meeting in Nov. 88 at Hamline University;
- Commentary on "Wittgenstein on Intuitionism and Understanding", at the Central States Philosophical Meetings in Nov. 91, at Washington University in St. Louis.
- Commentary on "Berkeley's Anticipation of Hume's Problem of Induction" at the Minnesota Philosophical Society meeting, Oct. 92 at Macalester College.
- Commentary on "The Marks of Intentionality", at the Minnesota Philosophical Society meeting, Oct. 95 at St. Olaf College.
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Last updated 9/20/00