Metaphysical Myths, Mathematical Practice

The Ontology and Epistemology of the Exact Sciences

Bibliographic Data

ID23788386
AuthorsJody Azzouni (0000-0002-1626-0670, Tufts University, corresponding author)
Year1994
Publication date1994-02-25
Open AccessYes
TypeBOOK
VenueMetaphysical Myths, Mathematical Practice (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/cbo9780511551291
OpenAlexW4255628890
Open LibraryOL34443806M
ISBN9780511551291
LanguageEN
Citations received15

Most philosophers of mathematics try to show either that the sort of knowledge mathematicians have is similar to the sort of knowledge specialists in the empirical sciences have or that the kind of knowledge mathematicians have, although apparently about objects such as numbers, sets, and so on, isn't really about those sorts of things as well. Jody Azzouni argues that mathematical knowledge really is a special kind of knowledge with its own special means of gathering evidence. He analyses the linguistic pitfalls and misperceptions philosophers in this field are often prone to, and explores the misapplications of epistemic principles from the empirical sciences to the exact sciences. What emerges is a picture of mathematics both sensitive to mathematical practice, and to the ontological and epistemological issues that concern philosophers.

Epistemology · Field (mathematics) · Mathematical practice · Metaphysics · Mythology · Pure mathematics · sort · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics · Mathematical and Theoretical Analysis · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and Theoretical Science

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