Hilbert’s problems, Kant, and decidability

I show on the basis of unpublished sources how Hilbert's conviction of the solvability of all mathematical problems originated from an engagement with Kant's philosophy of mathematics. Furthermore, I consider other sense of the "solvability" or "decidability" of mathematical problems which Hilbert thought about later: decidability in finitely many steps, which is an issue Hilbert inherited from Kronecker, "finitistic decidability" which Hilbert develops by reflecting on Kronecker's methodological strictures, and finally the decision-problem as raised by Behmann in the 1920s. I argue that these different preoccupations have different historical and biographical roots, and should also be kept conceptually distinct.

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Publication Details

Journal
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
Published
2025-08-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00407-025-00350-y
Citations
1
Primary Topic
History and Theory of Mathematics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
28.58

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article

Hilbert’s problems, Kant, and decidability

Moritz Bodner
1 citations
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
History and Theory of Mathematics
28.58
article

Hilbert’s problems, Kant, and decidability

Moritz Bodner
article en
1 citations

Abstract

I show on the basis of unpublished sources how Hilbert's conviction of the solvability of all mathematical problems originated from an engagement with Kant's philosophy of mathematics. Furthermore, I consider other sense of the "solvability" or "decidability" of mathematical problems which Hilbert thought about later: decidability in finitely many steps, which is an issue Hilbert inherited from Kronecker, "finitistic decidability" which Hilbert develops by reflecting on Kronecker's methodological strictures, and finally the decision-problem as raised by Behmann in the 1920s. I argue that these different preoccupations have different historical and biographical roots, and should also be kept conceptually distinct.

Archive for History of Exact SciencesVol. 79(1)
University of Vienna (AT)
Universität Wien, European Research Council
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
History and Theory of Mathematics
28.58
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