Ontology and the Foundations of Mathematics
Author | : Penelope Rush |
Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | : 93 |
Release | : 2022-02-10 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781108626569 |
ISBN-13 | : 1108626564 |
Rating | : 4/5 (564 Downloads) |
Download or read book Ontology and the Foundations of Mathematics written by Penelope Rush and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-02-10 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Element looks at the problem of inter-translation between mathematical realism and anti-realism and argues that so far as realism is inter-translatable with anti-realism, there is a burden on the realist to show how her posited reality differs from that of the anti-realist. It also argues that an effective defence of just such a difference needs a commitment to the independence of mathematical reality, which in turn involves a commitment to the ontological access problem – the problem of how knowable mathematical truths are identifiable with a reality independent of us as knowers. Specifically, if the only access problem acknowledged is the epistemological problem – i.e. the problem of how we come to know mathematical truths – then nothing is gained by the realist notion of an independent reality and in effect, nothing distinguishes realism from anti-realism in mathematics.