Maximen IV / Maxims IV

Over a period of 22 years (1934-1955), the mathematician Kurt Gödel wrote down philosophical remarks, the so-called Maximen Philosophie (Max Phil). They are preserved in 15 notebooks in Gabelsberger shorthand. The first booklet contains general philosophical considerations, booklets two and three consist of Gödel's individual ethics. The following volumes show that Gödel developed a philosophy of science in which he places his discussions on physics, psychology, biology, mathematics, language, theology and history in the context of a metaphysics.

A complete, historical-critical edition of Gödel's Philosophical Notebooks is now being prepared for the first time at the Kurt Gödel Research Centre of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. One volume will be published each year as part of this edition.

In volume 4, Gödel deals with fundamental questions of mathematics and logic as well as the philosophy of mathematics. In addition, the relationship between different scientific disciplines and their specific questions are at the centre of his considerations. These include, in particular, philosophy, psychology and theology.