I NTRODUCTI ON

Gian-Carlo Rotas Third Way

The scientifc method is not a technique. If it becomes one it betrays its own
essence.
Martin Heidegger
A star-shape built out of star-shapes, which in their turn are composed of stretches and
ultimately of points. The points serve to found stretches, the stretches serve to found,
as new aesthetic unities, the individual stars, and these in their turn serve to found the
star-pattern, as the highest unity in the given case.
Edmund Husserl
Gian-Carlo Rotas life was an intense intellectual adventure dominated by an inex-
haustible curiosity, as his dozens of publications across numerous felds of math-
ematics and philosophy attest. This book, the frst to examine his philosophical
investigation, aims less at historically reconstructing the evolution of his thought
than at tracing a common thread, an element of continuity in his heterogeneous
interests. This thread is constituted by Fundierung, a phenomenological theme es-
poused by Husserl, which Rota characterized as ranking among Husserls greatest
logical discoveries, and on which Rota focused his attention from the frst of his
philosophical writings. In Husserl, Fundierung is translated as foundation; Rota
describes it as layering, letting, and founding (Rota, 1973a; Rota, 1986a, p. 171).
Rota uses Fundierung as an instrument to open up a phenomenological way capable
of overcoming the classical alternative between empiricism and rationalism that
not only conditions philosophical tradition but, in particular, represents an aporetic
obstacle for a comprehension of the nature of mathematical entities. In this way
Rota speaks for a philosophical project that, from Kant to Bachelard,
1
has sought
to overcome the classical forms of the hierarchization of reality stemming from
this metaphysical alternative that claims to interpret physical objects as more real
1
In this regard see Bonicalzi (1982), pp. 3639. In particular the schema of note 14 on p. 39
represents the correspondence/opposition of a series of pairs (idealism, conventionalism, and
formalism on one side; positivism, empiricism, and realism on the other) that will be used exten-
sively in my own investigation. The individuation of a middle philosophical waythe inspiration
for my defnition of third wayis the focus of Bachelard (1972), pp. 2734. Francesca Boni-
calzi has provided many suggestions, contributions, and comparisons that have been of great
value for my research.
2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
Introduction
2
than objects that are ideal (or vice versa), or to attribute some type of physical ex-
istence to every entity.
The common thread of Fundierung infuences not only the philosophy of math-
ematics but also the other principal felds of Rotas philosophical investigation: his
refection on objectivism, his rereading of Heideggerian hermeneutics, his critique
of analytic philosophy, and his critique of scientism. Objectivism was a crucial is-
sue for many contemporary philosophersHusserl in particular. But one of Rotas
most original contributions was his attempt to single out objectivism as an obstacle
not only for philosophical research but also (and above all) for scientifc research.
His objection to objectivism does not consist in a critique of science tout court, but
rather of reductionism entangled in the most classical philosophical aporias by its
inability to grasp the complexity of the relation between the whole and its parts.
This is a question of great topical interest, as was demonstrated by the international
conference held at the Universit Statale in Milan in 2009, on the occasion of the
tenth anniversary of Rotas death.
2
For Rota, these diffculties can be overcome if, through the relation of Fundier-
ung, the full importance of the autonomy of a phenomenons levels of description
can be grasped. His refections in this regard are contained in his most important
text, signifcantly titled The End of Objectivity, which collects the lessons of his phi-
losophy courses at MIT (Rota, 1991a).
3
In this vein, the title of my book is infu-
enced by Fundierung; Husserls star-shape in the Third Logical Investigation is used to
exemplify a particular type of foundation (Fundierung) between the whole and the
parts that Rota transformed into one of the keystones of his thinking.
The theme of Fundierung also conditions Rotas rereading of Heidegger, par-
ticularly regarding the problem of sense (Sinn), its contextual nature, and its con-
nection with a physical substrate. This perspective underlies his philosophical proj-
ect for a pluralistic cultural and scientifc attitude where, alongside non-dogmatic
objectivism, phenomenology can carve out a space of its own, creating a fruitful
dialogue between scientifc enterprise and philosophical refection.
This type of approach, like that of other scholars of continental origin, met
with ferce opposition on the philosophical scene in the United States. Rota re-
sponded with a wealth of essays and articles in which he voices an equally vig-
orous criticism of analytical philosophy. This polemic, moreover, interacted with
his interest in issues relative to teaching, to scientifc education, and to diffusion,
turning his philosophical works into an important reference point for all those who
are interested in understanding and overcoming the fracture between analytic and
continental philosophy.
4
2
See DAntona, Damiani, Marra, Palombi (Eds.), (2009).
3
This is a 457-page compendium of heavily edited lecture notes from Rotas annual courses at
MIT between 1974 and 1991. See also Rota (2007).
4
Regarding this fracture see DAgostini (1997), pp. 123166, and Picardi (1999).
2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
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Gian-Carlo Rotas Third Way
3
The Star and the Whole stems from a debate that I have not resigned myself to
consider closed by Gian-Carlo Rotas death. Its path, studded with thoughts and
second thoughts, represents the outcome of my interminable and impassioned dis-
cussions with my master. This complex structure particularly characterizes the part
dedicated to the philosophy of mathematics, in which I propose a deeper reading
of certain cues in Rotas thinking based on my own specifc interests.
5
This has
produced short circuits among different philosophical traditions that show (be-
yond the obvious differences) some profound convergences. In particular, I have
attempted to rethink some notions in the thought of Edmund Husserl, Martin
Heidegger, and Jacques Derrida in an epistemological vein and to relate them to
the thinking of other authors who have specifcally analyzed the scientifc enter-
prise, such as Pierre Duhem, Ernst Mach, Henri Poincar, and Imre Lakatos. This
operation is risky from the historical perspective, but is also theoretically interesting
precisely because it makes it possible to fx and flter those moments of personal
contact with Rota that would otherwise be lost.
The book consists of four chapters and a bibliographical section. The frst
chapter reconstructs the fundamental coordinates of Rotas cultural biography and
examines his peculiar philosophical style, his criticisms of analytical philosophy
(against the backdrop of a contraposition that left its mark in US culture), and his
refection on Heideggers thought.
The second chapter presents a general picture of Rotas personal reinterpreta-
tion of phenomenology, infuenced by theoretical and didactic demands, focusing
in particular on the Heideggerian themes of context and tool. In this chapter the
star-shape becomes a powerful instrument for understanding the properties of
Husserls mereology
6
and for the critique of objectivism.
The third chapter proposes an analysis of that which Rota described as the
double life of mathematics. This chapter consists of a theoretical refection on the
nature of mathematical entities, which relates Rotas phenomenological investiga-
tionattentive to their constitutive and historical aspectsto his epistemological
considerations.
The fourth chapter critically examines the complex relation of mathematical
research with technological applicability and scientifc progress, based on a phe-
nomenological refection on intentionality.
5
There are traces of this long debate not only in my memory but also in some 25 audiocassettes
that recorded some of our conversations from 1990 to 1998. The present text comprises, more-
over, Palombi (1997), (1999a), (1999b), and (2005).
6
Mereology (from the Greek , part) is the theory of parthood relations: of the relations
of part to whole and the relations of part to part within a whole. Its roots can be traced back to
the early days of philosophy []. As a formal theory of parthood relations, however, mereol-
ogy made its way into our times mainly through the work of Franz Brentano and of his pupils,
especially Husserls third Logical Investigation (Varzi, 2004).
2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
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Introduction
4
The text concludes with a full bibliographical section that has a value all its own,
capable of tracing the general perimeter of Rotas investigation, of drawing a map of
his philosophical interests, and of surveying his sources and his authors of reference.
This, to date, is the most complete bibliographical analysis of his philosophical writings,
made possible (despite the scattering of his archives) by the notable quantity of mate-
rial, documents, and books that, in ten years of collaboration, Rota entrusted to me with
an explicit request for me to study, catalogue, criticize, and publicize it. I hope that this
book may be a fulfllmenthowever partialof his wishes.
2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
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