On Nelson’s Position in the Philosophy of Mathematics (1928)

‖ In connection with the preceding article by Otto Meyerhof, a few words on Nelson’s significance for the philosophy of mathematics might be added. Nelson was among those philosophers whose style of thinking resulted from a familiarity with the spirit of the exact sciences. Mathematics and physics represented the methodical ideal that he strove to achieve in elaborating his philosophical thoughts. He considered the demand of systematic rigor to be ‖ completely satisfied in mathematical axiomatics, in particular in the form that Hilbert had given it in Foundations of Geometry. And he therefore endeavored to extend the reach of this method of axiomatics in the domain of philosophy.