Philosophy of Mathematics

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Princeton University Press, Mar 24, 2020 - Mathematics - 216 pages

A sophisticated, original introduction to the philosophy of mathematics from one of its leading thinkers

Mathematics is a model of precision and objectivity, but it appears distinct from the empirical sciences because it seems to deliver nonexperiential knowledge of a nonphysical reality of numbers, sets, and functions. How can these two aspects of mathematics be reconciled? This concise book provides a systematic, accessible introduction to the field that is trying to answer that question: the philosophy of mathematics. �ystein Linnebo, one of the world's leading scholars on the subject, introduces all of the classical approaches to the field as well as more specialized issues, including mathematical intuition, potential infinity, and the search for new mathematical axioms. Sophisticated but clear and approachable, this is an essential book for all students and teachers of philosophy and of mathematics.

Contents

CHAPTER
21
CHAPTER THREE
38
CHAPTER FOUR
56
CHAPTER FIVE
73
CHAPTER
88
CHAPTER SEVEN
101
CHAPTER EIGHT
116
CHAPTER
139
CHAPTER ELEVEN
154
CHAPTER TWELVE
170
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About the author (2020)

�ystein Linnebo is professor of philosophy at the University of Oslo. He is the author of Thin Objects: An Abstractionist Account and the coauthor (with Salvatore Florio) of The Many and the One: A Philosophical Study.

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