This anticipation should, however, not be overrated. Bolzano was not quite able to rid himself of all the prejudices of his time and was, therefore, unable to reach a clear and fruitful conception of equivalence between infinite sets.
Ethics and Philosophy of Religion
Bolzano was, in his time, much more influential as a theologian and social moralist than as a mathematician. An advocate of the Bohemian Catholic enlightenment, he lectured on religion and moral philosophy with strong pacifistic and socialistic overtones. He used the pulpit to proclaim before hundreds of impressed students a kind of utopian socialism. In his sermons he tried to prove the essential equality of all human beings, attacked private property obtained without work, and exhorted his listeners to sacrifice everything in their struggle for human rights. These sermons served him as a preparation for what he regarded as his most important book, Von dem besten Staate, which he finished in 1837 but was unable to publish. It first appeared in Prague in 1932.
This is a free page. This page contains 166 words. This
article contains 1,629 words (approx. 5 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Bolzano, Bernard (1781–1848) Access Pass.
