Volker Peckhaus - Böcker

This biography sheds light on all facets of the life and the achievements of Ernst Zermelo (1871-1953). Zermelo is best-known for the statement of the axiom of choice and his axiomatization of set theory. However, he also worked in applied mathematics and mathematical physics. His dissertation, for example, promoted the calculus of variations, and he created the pivotal method in the theory of rating systems.The presentation of Zermelo's work explores motivations, aims, acceptance, and influence. Selected proofs and information gleaned from letters add to the analysis. The description of his personality owes much to conversations with his late wife Gertrud.This second edition provides additional information. The system of citations has been adapted to that of Zermelo's Collected Works in order to facilitate side-by-side reading and thus profit from the thorough commentaries written for the Collected Works by experts in the respective fields.All facts presented are documented by appropriate sources. The biography contains nearly 50 photos and facsimiles.

This biography sheds light on all facets of the life and the achievements of Ernst Zermelo (1871-1953). Zermelo is best-known for the statement of the axiom of choice and his axiomatization of set theory. However, he also worked in applied mathematics and mathematical physics. His dissertation, for example, promoted the calculus of variations, and he created the pivotal method in the theory of rating systems.The presentation of Zermelo's work explores motivations, aims, acceptance, and influence. Selected proofs and information gleaned from letters add to the analysis. The description of his personality owes much to conversations with his late wife Gertrud.This second edition provides additional information. The system of citations has been adapted to that of Zermelo's Collected Works in order to facilitate side-by-side reading and thus profit from the thorough commentaries written for the Collected Works by experts in the respective fields.All facts presented are documented by appropriate sources. The biography contains nearly 50 photos and facsimiles.

The Berlin Group for scientific philosophy was active between 1928 and 1933 and was closely related to the Vienna Circle. In 1930, the leaders of the two Groups, Hans Reichenbach and Rudolf Carnap, launched the journal Erkenntnis. However, between the Berlin Group and the Vienna Circle, there was not only close relatedness but also significant difference. Above all, while the Berlin Group explored philosophical problems of the actual practice of science, the Vienna Circle, closely following Wittgenstein, was more interested in problems of the language of science. The book includes first discussion ever (in three chapters) on Walter Dubislav’s logic and philosophy. Two chapters are devoted to another author scarcely explored in English, Kurt Grelling, and another one to Paul Oppenheim who became an important figure in the philosophy of science in the USA in the 1940s–1960s. Finally, the book discusses the precursor of the Nord-German tradition of scientific philosophy, Jacob Friedrich Fries.