Page "Ivor Grattan-Guinness" Paragraph 23

* Grattan-Guinness ' The Search for Mathematical Roots 1870 – 1940 is a sweeping study of the rise of mathematical logic during that critical period.

The central theme of the book is the rise of logicism, thanks to the efforts of Frege, Bertrand Russell, and Alfred Whitehead, and its demise due to Gödel and indifference.

Whole chapters are devoted to the emergence of algebraic logic in the 19th century UK, Cantor and the emergence of set theory, the emergence of mathematical logic in Germany told in a way that downplays Frege's importance, and to Peano and his followers.

There follow four chapters devoted to the ideas of the young Bertrand Russell, the writing of both The Principles of Mathematics and Principia Mathematica, and to the mixed reception the ideas and methods encountered over the period 1910 – 40.

The book touches on the rise of model theory as well as proof theory, and on the emergence of American research on the foundation of mathematics, especially in the hands of E. H. Moore and his students, of the postulate theorists, and of Quine.

While Polish logic is often mentioned, it is not covered systematically.

Finally, the book is a contribution to the history of philosophy as well as of mathematics.