Resumen de On the origins of Hilbert�s sixth problem: physics and the empiricist approach to axiomatization

Leo Corry

• The sixth of Hilbert�s famous 1900 list of twenty-three problems is a programmatic call for the axiomatization of physical sciences. Contrary to a prevalent view this problem was naturally rooted at the core of Hilbert�s conception of what axiomatization is all about. The axiomatic method embodied in his work on geometry at the turn of the twentieth-century originated in a preoccupation with foundational questions related with empirical science, including geometry and other physical disciplines at a similar level. From all the problems in the list, the sixth is the only one that continually engaged his efforts over a very long period, at least between 1894 and 1932.