Zermelo 1927

pp. 308-347

in: Ernst Zermelo, Set theory, miscellanea / Mengenlehre, varia, Berlin, Springer, 2010

Abstract

Zermelo's investigations leading to 1927 were first published by Waldemar Alexandrow in his Zurich doctoral thesis 1915. In his report of 9 July 1915 on this thesis, Zermelo criticizes "the truly discouraging effect of the French original memoirs" on the promulgation of the theory of measure and expresses the opinion that "a simple and clearly arranged development of the theory from the fundamentals satisfying at the same time all requirements of scientific rigour [would be] a rewarding project". He points out that in pursuit of this aim he had "put some new theorems [...] including the ideas of proof [...] at the author's disposal for a first publication", and he states that "accordingly, the problem was more of a reporting and compiling nature than of a creative one". Nevertheless, he acknowledges that Alexandrow's work may "be viewed as a valuable scientific achievement". In the introduction to his thesis, Alexandrow likewise points out that "the line of thought of the entire development and the essential results [...] have been communicated to [...] [[the author]] by Herrn Prof. Zermelo for a systematic elaboration". — It is only in 1927 after a long break that Zermelo himself submits his paper 1927 for publication.