Putnam and the Indispensability of Mathematics

Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology 17 (2):217 (2013)
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Abstract

In this paper, I examine Putnam’s nuanced views in the philosophy of mathematics, distinguishing three proposals: modalism, quasi-empirical realism, and an indispensability view. I argue that, as he shifted through these views, Putnam aimed to preserve a semantic realist account of mathematics that avoids platonism. In the end, however, each of the proposals faces significant difficulties. A form of skepticism then emerges.

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10.5007/1808-1711.2013v17n2p217

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Otávio Bueno
University of Miami

Citations of this work

Putnam and contemporary fictionalism.Concha Martínez Vidal - 2018 - Theoria : An International Journal for Theory, History and Fundations of Science 33 (2):165-181.
Hilary Putnam on the philosophy of logic and mathematics.José Miguel Sagüillo - 2018 - Theoria : An International Journal for Theory, History and Fundations of Science 33 (2):183-200.

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References found in this work

On the Plurality of Worlds.David K. Lewis - 1986 - Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell.
Platonism and Anti-Platonism in Mathematics.Mark Balaguer - 1998 - Bulletin of Symbolic Logic 8 (4):516-518.
What is Cantor's Continuum Problem?Kurt Gödel - 1947 - The American Mathematical Monthly 54 (9):515--525.
Mathematics and plausible reasoning.George Pólya - 1954 - Princeton, N.J.,: Princeton University Press.

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