A demonstration really based upon the principles of Analytical Logic will be composed of a succession of propositions ; some, which will serve as pre… - Henri Poincaré

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A demonstration really based upon the principles of Analytical Logic will be composed of a succession of propositions ; some, which will serve as premises, will be identities or definitions ; others will be deduced from the former step by step ; but although the connexion between each proposition and the succeeding proposition can be grasped immediately, it is not obvious at a glance how it has been possible to pass from the first to the last, which we may be tempted to look upon as a new truth. But if we replace successively the various expressions that are used by their definitions, and if we pursue this operation to the furthest possible limit, there will be nothing left at the end but identities, so that all will be reduced to one immense tautology. Logic therefore remains barren, unless it is fertilized by intuition.

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About Henri Poincaré

Jules Henri Poincaré (29 April 1854 – 17 July 1912), generally known as Henri Poincaré, was one of France's greatest mathematicians and theoretical physicists, and a philosopher of science.

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Also Known As

Alternative Names: Jules Henri Poincare Henri Poincare Poincare Jules Henri Poincaré Poincaré
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The syllogism cannot teach us anything essentially new ( ... ). It must be conceded that mathematical reasoning has of itself a sort of creative virtue, and consequently differs from the syllogism.

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Every conclusion supposes premises; these premises themselves either are self-evident and need no demonstration, or can be established only by relying upon other propositions, and since we can not go back thus to infinity, every deductive science, and in particular geometry, must rest on a certain number of undemonstrable axioms.

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