The Prehistory of Mathematical Structuralism Format: Hardcover

This edited volume explores the previously underacknowledged 'pre-history' of mathematical structuralism, showing that structuralism has deep roots in the history of modern mathematics. The contributors explore this history along two distinct but interconnected dimensions. First, they reconsider the methodological contributions of major figures in the history of mathematics. Second, they re-examine a range of philosophical reflections from mathematically-inclinded philosophers like Russell, Carnap, and Quine, whose work led to profound conclusions about logical, epistemological, and metaphysical aspects of structuralism.

Erich H. Reck is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California at Riverside. He is the author of a number of articles in the philosophy of mathematics, the history and philosophy of logic, and the history of 19th/20th-century philosophy. In addition, he is the editor, or co-editor, of several related collections of essays: From Frege to Wittgenstein: Perspectives on Early Analytic Philosophy (OUP, 2002); Frege's Lectures on Logic: Carnap's Student Notes, 1910-1914 (Open Court, 2004); Gottlob Frege: Critical Assessments of Leading Philosophers, Vols. I-IV (Routledge, 2005); The Historical Turn in Analytic Philosophy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013); and Logic, Philosophy of Mathematics, and their History: Essays in Honor of W.W. Tait (College Publications, 2018). Currently he is working on a book on the mathematician and philosopher of mathematics Richard Dedekind.

Georg Schiemer is Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Vienna as well as external fellow at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy at LMU Munich. He is currently principal investigator of the project "The Roots of Mathematical Structuralism" funded by an ERC Starting Grant. His research focuses on the history and philosophy of mathematics and early analytic philosophy. He is also interested in the history and philosophy of logic and formal philosophy of science.