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The importance of this event was due to Bertrand Russell challenging German mathematician Gottlob Ferge's axiomatic system. Ferge had theorized that all sets could satisfy a given formula. However, Russell's counter argument was questioning how a set could be a member of itself, while also not being a member of itself simultaneously. This created his paradox, and essentially contradicted Ferge's axiom.
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The significance of this theory is that it touches on multiple areas. Russell's analysis on descriptions touches on the areas of metaphysics, semantics, psychology, logic, epistemology, and linguistics.