Skip to main content
2 of 4
Generalised the question and spelt out the TLA.
Paul Taylor
  • 8.5k
  • 1
  • 29
  • 58

What is the status of the extreme value theorem in forms of constructive mathematics, such as Smooth Infinitessimal Analysis?

In certain intuitionistic frameworks the extreme value theorem cannot be proved. Depending on the exact framework, counterexamples can be constructed as well; see for example pp. 294-295 in

Troelstra, A. S.; van Dalen, D. Constructivism in mathematics. Vol. I. An introduction. Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics, 121. North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1988. xx+342+XIV pp. ISBN: 0-444-70266-0; 0-444-70506-6

The Smooth Infinitesimal Analysis (SIA) following Lawvere, Kock, J. Bell, and others is based on a category-theoretic framework where the background logic is intuitionistic. What is the status of the extreme value theorem in SIA?

Mikhail Katz
  • 16.6k
  • 2
  • 54
  • 127