ENGLISH

A subject with no object: Strategies for nominalistic interpretation of mathematics

By John P. Burgess , Gideon Rosen

Book information

Publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
Year
1997
ISBN
9780198236153, 0198236158
LCC
QA8.4 .B86 1997
Open Library ID
OL989859M
Language
english
Format
DJVU
Filesize
2 MB (1850020 bytes)
Pages
272\272
Library
Kolxo3
DPI
300
Time added
2009-12-04 00:34:26

Description

Numbers and other mathematical objects are exceptional in having no locations in space or time and no causes or effects in the physical world. This makes it difficult to account for the possibility of mathematical knowledge, leading many philosophers to embrace nominalism, the doctrine that there are no abstract entitles, and to embark on ambitious projects for interpreting mathematics so as to preserve the subject while eliminating its objects. A Subject With No Object cuts through a host of technicalities that have obscured previous discussions of these projects, and presents clear, concise accounts, with minimal prerequisites, of a dozen strategies for nominalistic interpretation of mathematics, thus equipping the reader to evaluate each and to compare different ones. The authors also offer critical discussion, rare in the literature, of the aims and claims of nominalistic interpretation, suggesting that it is significant in a very different way from that usually assumed.

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