Rovelli, Carlo (2015) Michelangelo’s Stone: an Argument against Platonism in Mathematics. [Preprint]

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Abstract

If there is a ‘platonic world’ M of mathematical facts, what does M contain precisely? I observe that if M is too large, it is uninteresting, because the value is in the selection, not in the totality; if it is smaller and interesting, it is not independent of us. Both alternatives challenge mathematical platonism. I suggest that the universality of our mathematics may be a prejudice hiding its contingency, and illustrate contingent aspects of classical geometry, arithmetic and linear algebra.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Rovelli, Carlo rovelli@cpt.univ-mrs.fr 0000-0003-1724-9737
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Ontology Specific Sciences > Mathematics
Depositing User:	Carlo Rovelli
Date Deposited:	06 Sep 2015 14:49
Last Modified:	11 Jul 2024 13:14
Item ID:	11659
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Ontology Specific Sciences > Mathematics
Date:	6 September 2015
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/11659

Available Versions of this Item

• Michelangelo's Stone: an Argument against Platonism in Mathematics. (deposited 29 Jul 2015 18:34)
  • Michelangelo’s Stone: an Argument against Platonism in Mathematics. (deposited 06 Sep 2015 14:49) [Currently Displayed]
  • Michelangelo's Stone: an Argument against Platonism in Mathematics. (deposited 03 Aug 2015 16:35)

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