March 26
Carolin Antos,
University of Konstanz
The 'algebraic' vs. 'non-algebraic' distinction: New impulses for the universe/multiverse debate?
The distinction between 'algebraic' and 'non-algebraic fields in mathematics, coined by Shapiro (1997), plays an important role in discussions about the status of set theory and connects back to the so-called universe/multiverse debate in the philosophy of set theory. In this talk we will see, that this distinction is not as clear cut as is usually assume when using it in the debate. In particular, we will see that in more recent formulations of this distinction, multiversism seems to split into a a strong and a weaker form. This can be translated to a meta-level, when considering the background theory in which set-theoretic multiversism can take place. This offers a more fine-grained picture of multiversism and allows us to mitigate a standard universist objection based on the conception of a multiversist background theory.