It is currently fashionable to take Putnamian model-theoretic worries seriously for mathematics, but not for discussions of ordinary physical objects and the sciences. However, I will argue that (under certain mild assumptions) merely securing determinate reference to physical possibility suffices to rule out the kind of nonstandard interpretations of our number talk Putnam invokes. So, anyone who accepts determinate reference to physical possibility should not reject determinate reference to the natural numbers on Putnamian model-theoretic grounds.
{"title":"Physical Possibility and Determinate Number Theory","authors":"Sharon Berry","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkab013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/philmat/nkab013","url":null,"abstract":"It is currently fashionable to take Putnamian model-theoretic worries seriously for mathematics, but not for discussions of ordinary physical objects and the sciences. However, I will argue that (under certain mild assumptions) merely securing determinate reference to physical possibility suffices to rule out the kind of nonstandard interpretations of our number talk Putnam invokes. So, anyone who accepts determinate reference to physical possibility should not reject determinate reference to the natural numbers on Putnamian model-theoretic grounds.","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70607961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
I identify two reasons for believing in the objectivity of mathematical knowledge: apparent objectivity and applications in science. Focusing on arithmetic, I analyze platonism and cognitive nativism in terms of explaining these two reasons. After establishing that both theories run into difficulties, I present an alternative epistemological account that combines the theoretical frameworks of enculturation and cumulative cultural evolution. I show that this account can explain why arithmetical knowledge appears to be objective and has scientific applications. Finally, I will argue that, while this account is compatible with platonist metaphysics, it does not require postulating mind-independent mathematical objects.
{"title":"Objectivity in Mathematics, Without Mathematical Objects","authors":"Markus Pantsar","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkab010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/philmat/nkab010","url":null,"abstract":"I identify two reasons for believing in the objectivity of mathematical knowledge: apparent objectivity and applications in science. Focusing on arithmetic, I analyze platonism and cognitive nativism in terms of explaining these two reasons. After establishing that both theories run into difficulties, I present an alternative epistemological account that combines the theoretical frameworks of enculturation and cumulative cultural evolution. I show that this account can explain why arithmetical knowledge appears to be objective and has scientific applications. Finally, I will argue that, while this account is compatible with platonist metaphysics, it does not require postulating mind-independent mathematical objects.","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/philmat/nkab010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70607962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We shall defend three philosophical theses about the extent of intrinsic justification based on various technical results. We shall present a set of theorems which indicate intriguing structural similarities between a family of “weak” reflection principles roughly at the level of those considered by Tait and Koellner and a family of “strong” reflection principles roughly at the level of those of Welch and Roberts, which we claim to lend support to the view that the stronger reflection principles are intrinsically justified as well as the weaker ones. We consider connections with earlier work of Marshall.
{"title":"Intrinsic Justifications for Large-Cardinal Axioms","authors":"Rupert McCallum","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkaa038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/philmat/nkaa038","url":null,"abstract":"We shall defend three philosophical theses about the extent of intrinsic justification based on various technical results. We shall present a set of theorems which indicate intriguing structural similarities between a family of “weak” reflection principles roughly at the level of those considered by Tait and Koellner and a family of “strong” reflection principles roughly at the level of those of Welch and Roberts, which we claim to lend support to the view that the stronger reflection principles are intrinsically justified as well as the weaker ones. We consider connections with earlier work of Marshall.","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/philmat/nkaa038","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68176532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Geoffrey Hellman. Mathematics and Its Logics: Philosophical Essays","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkab006","DOIUrl":"10.1093/philmat/nkab006","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43141776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kripke observes that the decimal numerals have the buck-stopping property: when a number is given in decimal notation, there is no further question of what number it is. What makes them special in this way? According to Kripke, it is because of structural revelation: each decimal numeral represents the structure of the corresponding number. Though insightful, I argue, this account has some counterintuitive consequences. Then I sketch an alternative account of the buck-stopping property in terms of how we specify the positions of numbers in the progression.
{"title":"On the Buck-Stopping Identification of Numbers","authors":"Dongwoo Kim","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkab009","DOIUrl":"10.1093/philmat/nkab009","url":null,"abstract":"Kripke observes that the decimal numerals have the buck-stopping property: when a number is given in decimal notation, there is no further question of what number it is. What makes them special in this way? According to Kripke, it is because of structural revelation: each decimal numeral represents the structure of the corresponding number. Though insightful, I argue, this account has some counterintuitive consequences. Then I sketch an alternative account of the buck-stopping property in terms of how we specify the positions of numbers in the progression.","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/philmat/nkab009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44847446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
How do non-experts single out numbers for reference? Linnebo has argued that they do so using a criterion of identity based on the ordinal properties of numerals. Neo-logicists, on the other hand, claim that cardinal properties are the basis of individuation, when they invoke Hume's Principle. I discuss empirical data from cognitive science and linguistics to answer how non-experts individuate numbers better in practice. I use those findings to develop an alternative account that mixes ordinal and cardinal properties to provide a detailed (though not conclusively proven) answer to the question: how do we in fact semantically individuate numbers?
{"title":"How Do We Semantically Individuate Natural Numbers?","authors":"Stefan Buijsman","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkab001","DOIUrl":"10.1093/philmat/nkab001","url":null,"abstract":"How do non-experts single out numbers for reference? Linnebo has argued that they do so using a criterion of identity based on the ordinal properties of numerals. Neo-logicists, on the other hand, claim that cardinal properties are the basis of individuation, when they invoke Hume's Principle. I discuss empirical data from cognitive science and linguistics to answer how non-experts individuate numbers better in practice. I use those findings to develop an alternative account that mixes ordinal and cardinal properties to provide a detailed (though not conclusively proven) answer to the question: how do we in fact semantically individuate numbers?","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/philmat/nkab001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49268017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stewart Shapiro and Geoffrey Hellman, eds. The History of Continua: Philosophical and Mathematical Perspectives","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkab003","DOIUrl":"10.1093/philmat/nkab003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45161747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Carl Posy and Ofra Rechter, eds. Kant's Philosophy of Mathematics. Volume 1: The Critical Philosophy and its Roots","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkaa037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/philmat/nkaa037","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68176535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"William Boos. Metamathematics and the Philosophical Tradition","authors":"Brendan Larvor","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkab008","DOIUrl":"10.1093/philmat/nkab008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/philmat/nkab008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46713901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}