Modularity in mathematics

Review of Symbolic Logic 13 (1):47-79 (2020)
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Abstract

In a wide range of fields, the word “modular” is used to describe complex systems that can be decomposed into smaller systems with limited interactions between them. This essay argues that mathematical knowledge can fruitfully be understood as having a modular structure and explores the ways in which modularity in mathematics is epistemically advantageous.

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10.1017/s1755020317000387

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Jeremy Avigad
Carnegie Mellon University

Citations of this work

Reliability of mathematical inference.Jeremy Avigad - 2020 - Synthese 198 (8):7377-7399.
Plans and planning in mathematical proofs.Yacin Hamami & Rebecca Lea Morris - 2020 - Review of Symbolic Logic 14 (4):1030-1065.

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References found in this work

The Architecture of Complexity.Herbert A. Simon - 1962 - Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 106.
Mental Representation.David Pitt - 2020 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Scientific Explanation.P. Kitcher & W. C. Salmon - 1992 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 43 (1):85-98.
Modularity in cognition: Framing the debate.H. Clark Barrett & Robert Kurzban - 2006 - Psychological Review 113 (3):628-647.
Mathematical explanation.Mark Steiner - 1978 - Philosophical Studies 34 (2):135 - 151.

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