Jan Lukasiewicz | Biography

One of the three leading members of the Warsaw school of logic during the 1920s and 1930s, Jan Lukasiewicz also developed the first nonclassical logical (polivalent logic). He had a profound influence on the succeeding generation of mathematical logicians by introducing Polishing notation, which became the basis of much of work.

Lukasiewicz, the son of a Roman Catholic Austrian Army captain, was born on December 21, 1878 in Lvov, Austrian Galicia (now Ukraine). He attended the University of Lvov, where he studied mathematics and philosophy and earned his doctorate with highest honors in 1902. Lukasiewicz remained there as a private tutor in logic and philosophy, giving the first Polish lectures on mathematical logic in 1907-1908. He remained there until 1915, when he accepted a position as lecturer at the University of Warsaw, which then was in German-occupied territory.

Beginning in 1910, when he published On Aristotle's Principle of Contradiction, which discussed noncontradiction and (aspects of calculus), Lukasiewicz worked toward his development in 1917 of a three-valued propositional calculus. This became the basis of his subsequent breakthroughs on many-valued, or what he called "non-Aristotelian," logic. At about this time, Lukasiewicz also created his new system of notation, which is distinguished by the absence of parentheses.

In 1919, Lukasiewicz served as education minister for the government of independent Poland. The following year he became a professor at the University of Warsaw, where, along with Tarski and , he formed a triumvirate of expertise in mathematical logic that attracted attention worldwide. As one of the founders of this Warsaw school of logic, Lukasiewicz used his influence to make mathematical logic a required class in all Polish universities. He viewed the subject as a vital tool of inquiry into the methodology of empirical science and the foundations of mathematics.

Lukasiewicz remained at the University of Warsaw until 1939, and during that time used modern formal techniques to look anew at ancient and medieval forms of logic especially regarding interpretation of and the Stoics' propositional calculus. His work in this area is credited with transforming modern academics' view of the history of logic.

According to autobiographical writings, Lukasiewicz and his wife endured a great deal of suffering during World War II. When the war finally ended in 1946, Lukasiewicz was living as an exile in Belgium. However, when he considered returning to his homeland, he found that he could not accept Poland's new Soviet-enforced political system, so he took a professorship at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. Lukasiewicz remained there until his death on February 13, 1956.