A Subject With No Object: Strategies for Nominalistic Interpretation of Mathematics - Softcover

Burgess, John P.; Rosen, Gideon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198250126 ISBN 13: 9780198250128

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2000

Synopsis

Numbers and other mathematical objects are exceptional in having no locations in space or time or relations of cause and effect. This makes it difficult to account for the possibility of the knowledge of such objects, leading many philosophers to embrace nominalism, the doctrine that there are no such objects, and to embark on ambitious projects for interpreting mathematics so as to preserve the subject while eliminating its objects. This book cuts through a host of technicalities that have obscured previous discussions of these projects, and presents clear, concise accounts of a dozen strategies for nominalistic interpretation of mathematics, thus equipping the reader to evaluate each and to compare different ones. The authors also offer critical discussion, rare in the literature, of the aims and claims of nominalistic interpretation, suggesting that it is significant in a very different way from that usually assumed.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Numbers and other mathematical objects are exceptional in having no locations in space or time and no causes or effects in the physical world. This makes it difficult to account for the possibility of mathematical knowledge, leading many philosophers to embrace nominalism, the doctrine that there are no abstract entitles, and to embark on ambitious projects for interpreting mathematics so as to preserve the subject while eliminating its objects. A Subject With No Object cuts through a host of technicalities that have obscured previous discussions of these projects, and presents clear, concise accounts, with minimal prerequisites, of a dozen strategies for nominalistic interpretation of mathematics, thus equipping the reader to evaluate each and to compare different ones. The authors also offer critical discussion, rare in the literature, of the aims and claims of nominalistic interpretation, suggesting that it is significant in a very different way from that usually assumed.

About the Author:

Gideon Rosen is Assistant Professor at Princeton University's Department of Philosophy.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0198250126
• ISBN 13: 9780198250128
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272