Literary Theory “Formalism”

Formalism is the mathematical school of thought which holds that mathematics consists of symbols, rules for combining those symbols, some minimal number of assumptions or axioms, and certain agreed upon rules of inference. Formalism was introduced in the early twentieth century by the great German mathematician, David Hilbert (1862-1943), in response to a certain uneasiness that had arisen among some mathematicians concerning the logical foundations of mathematics.

Hilbert's formalistic program essentially reduces mathematics to a game, albeit an important game, in which a very strict set of rules must be followed if one is to be allowed to play the game. The equipment needed for playing the game consists of the symbols of the mathematical system, stripped of meaning, except the meaning they are given by the rules of syntax by which they may be combined. The rules for playing the game are the rules of logical inference. The goal of the game is to prove, consistently, i.e., without contradiction, all the theorems that may be stated within the system. The players, the mathematicians, are governed by the very strict rules of the game, the axioms.