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  1. Mathematics and Metaphilosophy.Justin Clarke-Doane - 2022 - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    This book discusses the problem of mathematical knowledge, and its broader philosophical ramifications. It argues that the problem of explaining the (defeasible) justification of our mathematical beliefs (‘the justificatory challenge’), arises insofar as disagreement over axioms bottoms out in disagreement over intuitions. And it argues that the problem of explaining their reliability (‘the reliability challenge’), arises to the extent that we could have easily had different beliefs. The book shows that mathematical facts are not, in general, empirically accessible, contra Quine, (...)
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  • Philosophy of mathematics.Leon Horsten - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
    If mathematics is regarded as a science, then the philosophy of mathematics can be regarded as a branch of the philosophy of science, next to disciplines such as the philosophy of physics and the philosophy of biology. However, because of its subject matter, the philosophy of mathematics occupies a special place in the philosophy of science. Whereas the natural sciences investigate entities that are located in space and time, it is not at all obvious that this is also the case (...)
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  • God and Abstract Objects: The Coherence of Theism: Aseity.William Lane Craig - 2017 - Cham: Springer.
    This book is an exploration and defense of the coherence of classical theism’s doctrine of divine aseity in the face of the challenge posed by Platonism with respect to abstract objects. A synoptic work in analytic philosophy of religion, the book engages discussions in philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of language, metaphysics, and metaontology. It addresses absolute creationism, non-Platonic realism, fictionalism, neutralism, and alternative logics and semantics, among other topics. The book offers a helpful taxonomy of the wide range of options (...)
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  • Observation and Intuition.Justin Clarke-Doane & Avner Ash - forthcoming - In Carolin Antos, Neil Barton & Venturi Giorgio (eds.), Palgrave Companion to the Philosophy of Set Theory.
    The motivating question of this paper is: ‘How are our beliefs in the theorems of mathematics justified?’ This is distinguished from the question ‘How are our mathematical beliefs reliably true?’ We examine an influential answer, outlined by Russell, championed by Gödel, and developed by those searching for new axioms to settle undecidables, that our mathematical beliefs are justified by ‘intuitions’, as our scientific beliefs are justified by observations. On this view, axioms are analogous to laws of nature. They are postulated (...)
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  • Unification of mathematical theories.Krzysztof Wójtowicz - 1998 - Foundations of Science 3 (2):207-229.
    In this article the problem of unification of mathematical theories is discussed. We argue, that specific problems arise here, which are quite different than the problems in the case of empirical sciences. In particular, the notion of unification depends on the philosophical standpoint. We give an analysis of the notion of unification from the point of view of formalism, Gödel's platonism and Quine's realism. In particular we show, that the concept of “having the same object of study” should be made (...)
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  • Formal analyticity.Zeynep Soysal - 2018 - Philosophical Studies 175 (11):2791-2811.
    In this paper, I introduce and defend a notion of analyticity for formal languages. I first uncover a crucial flaw in Timothy Williamson’s famous argument template against analyticity, when it is applied to sentences of formal mathematical languages. Williamson’s argument targets the popular idea that a necessary condition for analyticity is that whoever understands an analytic sentence assents to it. Williamson argues that for any given candidate analytic sentence, there can be people who understand that sentence and yet who fail (...)
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  • Mathematical determinacy and the transferability of aboutness.Stephen Pollard - 2007 - Synthese 159 (1):83-98.
    Competent speakers of natural languages can borrow reference from one another. You can arrange for your utterances of ‘Kirksville’ to refer to the same thing as my utterances of ‘Kirksville’. We can then talk about the same thing when we discuss Kirksville. In cases like this, you borrow “ aboutness ” from me by borrowing reference. Now suppose I wish to initiate a line of reasoning applicable to any prime number. I might signal my intention by saying, “Let p be (...)
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  • The consistency problem for set theory: An essay on the Cantorian foundations of mathematics (II).John Mayberry - 1977 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 28 (2):137-170.
  • On Suprasubjective Existence in Mathematics.Stanisław Krajewski - 2018 - Studia Semiotyczne 32 (2):75-86.
    The professional mathematician is a Platonist with regard to the existence of mathematical entities, but, if pressed to tell what kind of existence they have, he hides behind a formalist approach. In order to take both attitudes into account in a possibly serious way, the concept of suprasubjective existence is proposed. It involves intersubjective existence, plus a stress on objectivity devoid of actual objects. The idea is illustrated, following William Byers, by the phenomenon of the rainbow: it is not an (...)
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  • Mathematics, the empirical facts, and logical necessity.John C. Harsanyi - 1983 - Erkenntnis 19 (1-3):167 - 192.
    It is argued that mathematical statements are "a posteriori synthetic" statements of a very special sort, To be called "structure-Analytic" statements. They follow logically from the axioms defining the mathematical structure they are describing--Provided that these axioms are "consistent". Yet, Consistency of these axioms is an empirical claim: it may be "empirically verifiable" by existence of a finite model, Or may have the nature of an "empirically falsifiable hypothesis" that no contradiction can be derived from the axioms.
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  • Hilbert's philosophy of mathematics.Marcus Giaquinto - 1983 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 34 (2):119-132.
  • Values and Mathematics: Overt and Covert.Paul Ernest - 2016 - Culture and Dialogue 4 (1):48-82.
    This paper argues that mathematics is imbued with values reflecting its production from human imagination and dialogue. Epistemological, ontological, aesthetic and ethical values are specified, both overt and covert. Within the culture of mathematics, the overt values of truth, beauty, purity, universalism, objectivism, rationalism and utility are identified. In contrast, hidden within mathematics and its culture are the covert values of objectism and ethics, including the specific ethical values of separatism, openness, fairness and democracy. Some of these values emerge from (...)
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  • On a theorem of Feferman.Michael Detlefsen - 1980 - Philosophical Studies 38 (2):129 - 140.
    In this paper I argue that Feferman's theorem does not signify the existence of skeptic-satisfying consistency proofs. However, my argument for this is much different than other arguments (most particularly Resnik's) for the same claim. The argument that I give arises form an analysis of the notion of 'expression', according to which the specific character of that notion is seen as varying from one context of application (of a result of arithmetic metamathematics) to another.
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  • On interpreting Gödel's second theorem.Michael Detlefsen - 1979 - Journal of Philosophical Logic 8 (1):297 - 313.
    In this paper I have considered various attempts to attribute significance to Gödel's second incompleteness theorem (G2 for short). Two of these attempts (Beth-Cohen and the position maintaining that G2 shows the failure of Hilbert's Program), I have argued, are false. Two others (an argument suggested by Beth, Cohen and ??? and Resnik's Interpretation), I argue, are groundless.
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  • Some remarks on the foundations of quantum theory.E. B. Davies - 2005 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 56 (3):521-539.
    Although many physicists have little interest in philosophical arguments about their subject, an analysis of debates about the paradoxes of quantum mechanics shows that their disagreements often depend upon assumptions about the relationship between theories and the real world. Some consider that physics is about building mathematical models which necessarily have limited domains of applicability, while others are searching for a final theory of everything, to which their favourite theory is supposed to be an approximation. We discuss some particular recent (...)
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  • Postulates for time evolution in quantum mechanics.B. Baumgartner - 1994 - Foundations of Physics 24 (6):855-872.
    A detailed list of postulates is formulated in an algebraic setting. These postulates are sufficient to entail the standard time evolution governed by the Schrödinger or Dirac equation. They are also necessary in a strong sense: Dropping any one of the postulates allows for other types of time evolution, as is demonstrated with examples. Some philosophical remarks hint on possible further investigations.
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  • Mathematical Infinity, Its Inventors, Discoverers, Detractors, Defenders, Masters, Victims, Users, and Spectators.Edward G. Belaga - manuscript
    "The definitive clarification of the nature of the infinite has become necessary, not merely for the special interests of the individual sciences, but rather for the honour of the human understanding itself. The infinite has always stirred the emotions of mankind more deeply than any other question; the infinite has stimulated and fertilized reason as few other ideas have ; but also the infinite, more than other notion, is in need of clarification." (David Hilbert 1925).
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