Anacletus, I. Ogbunkwu and Okafor, Polycarp (2020) THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE: HILBERT’S FORMALIST DREAM AND THE GÖDELLIAN INCOMPLETENESS OF HUMAN SOCIETY. JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS, 7 (1). 2666 -2669. ISSN 2394-5125
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Abstract
This paper explores how we can move from David Hilbert’s formalist way of thinking to Kurt Gödel’s alternative approach by applying it in human social systems. Hilbert’s hope to put the entirety of mathematics on a complete and consistent foundation by means of a formal systematization is officially as far as Enlightenment rationalism could possibly go. However, in 1931 Gödel presented his incompleteness theorem which proves that every formal system contains truths about mathematics that the system will never be able to prove from the inside out. Thus the incompleteness theorem of Godel effectively brings down the dream of a closed logical universe or formalism that validates itself. This paper suggests that the “Gödellian” limit is not just a technical limitation of mathematical logic, but an ontological property characterizing human society. By examining the shortfalls of formalism in communication, law, and governance we show that human systems are "open" by design, forever dependent on interpretation or judgment beyond the written rules. The “Gödellian sentence” of society is human intuition and context and creativity, the irreducible part of what makes us intelligent cannot be captured in formal systems.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > Faculty of Law > Faculty of Management and Social Sciences |
| Depositing User: | mrs chioma hannah |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Jun 2026 08:52 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Jun 2026 08:52 |
| URI: | http://eprints.gouni.edu.ng/id/eprint/5796 |
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