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Yes, and that’s precisely what makes the nihilist position so silly. (I’m sure the author wouldn’t describe himself as a nihilist, but if the position presented
by DATACOMMANDER 7y ago
Yes, and that’s precisely what makes the nihilist position so silly. (I’m sure the author wouldn’t describe himself as a nihilist, but if the position presented in his essay isn’t nihilism, then what—other than a waste of the reader’s time—can we call it?)
- ukj 7y agoTo call him a nihilist based on his views of Mathematics is a bit too reductionist, I think? All Mathematicians are human, not all humans are Mathematicians. Humans look for (and find) meaning wherever they can.
- DATACOMMANDER 7y agoThe position presented in the essay is mathematical nihilism. I make no comment on him or on his general philosophy, which I thought was obvious from context.
- ukj 7y agoIt was also obvious from the essay that his Mathematical nihilism didn't extend to computation. So it kind of begs the question: What does Mathematics mean to a Computer Scientist? Least we forget that Ed Nelson was a strong proponent of Ultrafinitism ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrafinitism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrafinitism )