__NOTOC__ Arend Heyting (; 9 May 1898 – 9 July 1980) was a Dutch

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and logician.

Biography

Heyting was a student of

Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer Luitzen Egbertus Jan "Bertus" Brouwer (27 February 1881 – 2 December 1966) was a Dutch mathematician and philosopher who worked in topology, set theory, measure theory and complex analysis. Regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians of the ...

at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

, and did much to put

intuitionistic logic Intuitionistic logic, sometimes more generally called constructive logic, refers to systems of symbolic logic that differ from the systems used for classical logic by more closely mirroring the notion of constructive proof. In particular, systems ...

on a footing where it could become part of

mathematical logic Mathematical logic is the study of Logic#Formal logic, formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory (also known as computability theory). Research in mathematical logic com ...

. Heyting gave the first formal development of intuitionistic logic in order to codify Brouwer's way of doing mathematics. The inclusion of Brouwer's name in the

Brouwer–Heyting–Kolmogorov interpretation In mathematical logic, the Brouwer–Heyting–Kolmogorov interpretation, or BHK interpretation, is an explanation of the meaning of proof in intuitionistic logic, proposed by L. E. J. Brouwer and Arend Heyting, and independently by Andrey Kolmogor ...

is largely honorific, as Brouwer was opposed in principle to the formalisation of certain intuitionistic principles (and went as far as calling Heyting's work a "sterile exercise"). In 1942 he became a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

. Heyting was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Netherlands, and died in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, Switzerland.

Selected publications

* (abridged reprint in ) * * * * * * * * * *

Notes

References

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External links

* 1898 births 1980 deaths Dutch mathematicians Dutch logicians Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences University of Amsterdam alumni Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam Scientists from Amsterdam Intuitionism {{Europe-mathematician-stub