Naming Infinity: A True Story of Religious Mysticism and Mathematical Creativity

Belknap Press, March 2009. Hardcover. New. Devoted to a little known but exemplary episode in the recent history of the relationship of mathematics and religion, <i>Naming Infinity</i> revolves around French and Russian mathematicians working on set theory at the beginning of the twentieth century. Initially discovered by a German mathematician, set theory (which explores the understanding of infinity) was developed in France before undergoing a profound crisis. When the French stalled, the Russians entered the scene with creative energy, advancing the theory with an original approach fueled by intense mysticism. Pavel Florensky, a mathematician turned theologian, was particularly interested in the 'relationship between the naming of 'God' and the naming of sets in set theory: both God and sets were made real by their naming. In fact, the 'set of all sets' might be God Himself.' But accusations of religious heresy and the political upheaval brought on by the Russian Revolution complicated and nearly devastated not only the mathematical work but also the lives of Russian mathematicians Egorov, Luzin, and Florensky. Naming Infinity weaves together the mathematical, religious, and political dramas of these men, emphasizing the way in which they revitalized mathematics by insisting on its collaboration with all of life, especially the human and the mystical. 239 pp.