Mathematical understanding and “What if things had been different?” questions

Balkan Journal of Philosophy 11 (2):145-154 (2019)
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Abstract

According to Grimm (2014), we only understand a phenomenon if we know what other phenomena it depends on, and we identify dependencies according to how we answer “What if things had been different?” questions. I argue that this view meets with mathematical counterexamples. For, in mathematics, things couldn't have been different. I consider three replies Grimm may make, and argue they do not succeed.

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1313888X

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10.5840/bjp201911215

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Andrei Mărăşoiu
University of Bucharest

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