Tracking Reason: Proof, Consequence, and Truth - Softcover

Azzouni, Jody

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195370694 ISBN 13: 9780195370690

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008

Synopsis

When ordinary people--mathematicians among them--take something to follow (deductively) from something else, they are exposing the backbone of our self-ascribed ability to reason. Jody Azzouni investigates the connection between that ordinary notion of consequence and the formal analogues invented by logicians. One claim of the book is that, despite our apparent intuitive grasp of consequence, we do not introspect rules by which we reason, nor do we grasp the scope and range of the domain, as it were, of our reasoning. This point is illustrated with a close analysis of a paradigmatic case of ordinary reasoning: mathematical proof.

About this title

About the Author

Jody Azzouni is Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. He also the author of Deflating Existential Consequence (OUP 2004).

Review

Azzouni has written a lively and provocative book advancing a novel approach to the philosophy of mathematics. Each conclusion is supported by tight argumentation and cannot be easily dismissed. If Azzouni is right, a great deal of contemporary philosophy of mathematics needs to be rethought.Philosophia Mathematica The positions that Azzouni develops here are bold and contentious. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Jody Azzounis book covers a variety of topics in metaphysics, the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mathematics. At its core, however, is a radical and original proposal about ontology and how to settle questions of ontological commitment I think it is fair to say that this book is one of the most divisive in the field in recent years. The Philosophical Review "In many ways, Tracking Reason resembles Jody Azzounis previous book, Deflating Existential Consequence. The subject matter of each lies at the interface of metaphysics, logic, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophy of language. The style is both entertaining and clear. The positions argued for are so controversial as to sound almost insane. And yet the arguments provided are illuminating, and manage to make the positions seem almost like common sense. The Philosophical Review Tracking Reason introduces exciting new ideas and proposes original and sophisticated solutions to difficult philosophical problems. Any reader interested in the philosophy of logic, language, or mathematics will no doubt benefit from Azzounis careful and detailed development of these views. Mathematical Reviews

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0195370694
• ISBN 13: 9780195370690
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256