Indispensability
£17.00
Part of Elements in the Philosophy of Mathematics
- Authors:
- A. C. Paseau, University of Oxford
- Alan Baker, Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania
- Date Published: June 2023
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781009096850
£
17.00
Paperback
Other available formats:
eBook
Looking for an inspection copy?
This title is not currently available on inspection
-
Our best scientific theories explain a wide range of empirical phenomena, make accurate predictions, and are widely believed. Since many of these theories make ample use of mathematics, it is natural to see them as confirming its truth. Perhaps the use of mathematics in science even gives us reason to believe in the existence of abstract mathematical objects such as numbers and sets. These issues lie at the heart of the Indispensability Argument, to which this Element is devoted. The Element's first half traces the evolution of the Indispensability Argument from its origins in Quine and Putnam's works, taking in naturalism, confirmational holism, Field's program, and the use of idealisations in science along the way. Its second half examines the explanatory version of the Indispensability Argument, and focuses on several more recent versions of easy-road and hard-road fictionalism respectively.
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: June 2023
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781009096850
- length: 75 pages
- dimensions: 229 x 152 x 4 mm
- weight: 0.11kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Naturalism and holism
3. Hard road nominalism: field's program
4. An objection from scientific practice
5. The enhanced indispensability argument
6. Easy road fictionalism
7. Hard road fictionalism
8. Conclusions
References.
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email [email protected]
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×