1 PYTHAGOREAN POWERS or A CHALLENGE TO PLATONISM

by Colin Cheyne , Charles R. Pigden

Datum	Value	Source
TITLE	1 PYTHAGOREAN POWERS or A CHALLENGE TO PLATONISM	SVM HeaderParse 0.2
AUTHOR NAME	Colin Cheyne	SVM HeaderParse 0.2
AUTHOR NAME	Charles R. Pigden	SVM HeaderParse 0.2
ABSTRACT	I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. Bertrand Russell, Autobiography, vol. 1, Prologue. The Quine/Putnam indispensability argument is regarded by many as the chief argument for the existence of platonic objects. We argue that this argument cannot establish what its proponents intend. The form of our argument is simple. Suppose indispensability to science is the only good reason for believing in the existence of platonic objects. Either the dispensability of mathematical objects to science can be demonstrated and, hence, there is no good reason for believing in the existence of platonic objects, or their dispensability cannot be demonstrated and, hence, there is no good reason for believing in the existence of mathematical objects which are genuinely platonic. Therefore, indispensability, whether true or false, does not support platonism. Mathematical platonists claim that at least some of the objects	SVM HeaderParse 0.2
CITATIONS	19 found	ParsCit 1.0