The infiniteness of being: Cantor's transfinite set theory and its metaphysical roots (Q1261795)

This Ph. D. thesis (Univ. Düsseldorf, Dept. Philos., 1989) reconsiders Cantor's way toward set theory and very much emphasises that there have been essential philosophical, metaphysical influences to his thinking: mainly through his knowledge of work of Spinoza and Pascal. Also if the present work sometimes seems to overestimate this influence, it convincingly argues that the usual purely mathematical interpretation of Cantor underestimates his philosophical background. The author, a non- mathematician, usually interprets and cites the mathematical notions well. The more it astonishes that within the text from time to time he refers to literature that is not given in the list of references.