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  • © 2017

Raymond Smullyan on Self Reference

  • Celebrates Raymond Smullyan, a mathematician, philosopher, musician, and inventor of logic puzzles, who has made a lasting impact on the study of mathematical logic
  • Is the first book honoring Raymond Smullyan’s contributions to self-reference, with new approaches by his peers
  • Collects tributes to Professor Raymond Smullyan’s work on self-reference by leading logicians
  • Presents new approaches to self-reference

Part of the book series: Outstanding Contributions to Logic (OCTR, volume 14)

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
  2. Introduction

    • Melvin Fitting
    Pages 1-22
  3. Formal Systems, Logics, and Programs

    • Robert L. Constable
    Pages 23-38
  4. Russell’s Paradox, Gödel’s Theorem

    • Melvin Fitting
    Pages 47-66
  5. Dance of the Starlings

    • Henk Barendregt, Jörg Endrullis, Jan Willem Klop, Johannes Waldmann
    Pages 67-111
  6. Some Tweets About Mockingbirds

    • Rick Statman
    Pages 113-122
  7. What I Tell You Three Times Is True

    • Martin Davis
    Pages 141-146
  8. An Island Tale for Young Anthropologists

    • Andrew G. Buchanan, John H. Conway
    Pages 165-180
  9. Bibliography of Raymond Smullyan

    • Raymond M. Smullyan
    Pages 191-195

About this book

This book collects, for the first time in one volume, contributions honoring Professor Raymond Smullyan’s work on self-reference. It serves not only as a tribute to one of the great thinkers in logic, but also as a celebration of self-reference in general, to be enjoyed by all lovers of this field. Raymond Smullyan, mathematician, philosopher, musician and inventor of logic puzzles, made a lasting impact on the study of mathematical logic; accordingly, this book spans the many personalities through which Professor Smullyan operated, offering extensions and re-evaluations of his academic work on self-reference, applying self-referential logic to art and nature, and lastly, offering new puzzles designed to communicate otherwise esoteric concepts in mathematical logic, in the manner for which Professor Smullyan was so well known.

This book is suitable for students, scholars and logicians who are interested in learning more about Raymond Smullyan's work and life.

Editors and Affiliations

  • City University of New York (CUNY) System, City University of New York, New York City, USA

    Melvin Fitting

  • NYC Department of Education, Brooklyn, USA

    Brian Rayman

About the editors

Profile Editor 1:



Melvin Fitting began his scientific career in 1968 and became Professor Emeritus in 2013, working for the entire time at the City University of New York. His work as a logician has included set theory, automated theorem proving, computer language semantics, and philosophical logic. Some of his books in these areas are well known, while others are not as well known as he would like. Following the example of his thesis advisor, Raymond Smullyan, retirement has not meant the end of a research career.



Profile Editor 2:


Brian Rayman works for New York City’s Department of Education. He holds Mathematics Education and Public Policy degrees from New York University and Columbia University, respectively. Since his days as an undergraduate, Brian has deeply embraced Professor Smullyan’s works in recreational mathematics and Eastern philosophy. As a high school mathematics teacher, heintegrated Raymond’s work into his curriculum and invited him to speak to his students. Raymond kindly accepted and after two hours, students were no longer sure where mathematics ended and magic began, and vice versa. Today, he considers his most significant accomplishment as being counted among Raymond’s friends and performing magic tricks that nearly made Raymond’s eyes pop out. Brian lives in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, with his wife and two sons.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Raymond Smullyan on Self Reference

  • Editors: Melvin Fitting, Brian Rayman

  • Series Title: Outstanding Contributions to Logic

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68732-2

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2017

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-68731-5Published: 22 January 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-88647-3Published: 06 June 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-68732-2Published: 11 January 2018

  • Series ISSN: 2211-2758

  • Series E-ISSN: 2211-2766

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VIII, 195

  • Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 18 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Logic, Mathematical Logic and Foundations, Theory of Computation

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access