Carolin Antos-Kuby

The project aims at a first comprehensive account of forcing in modern set theory. It claims that forcing developed from an independence-proving and, more generally, theorem-producing technique to a paradigmatic concept, i.e. a way to understand set theory di erently (research hypothesis). I will investigate how forcing was created, accepted and developed in the set-theoretic community, how it influences philosophical questions and research programs; and finally how it restructured the field of set theory, and, possibly, its place within mathematics (research aim). The main research question is therefore: How did the use of forcing by its practitioners change the concept of set theory? This question will be studied by examining forcing in different contexts by regarding philosophical, mathematical and socio-historical aspects.