What's Wrong with Indispensability? (Or, the Case for Recreational Mathematics)

• Published in: Synthese (Dordrecht) Vol. 131; no. 3; pp. 395 - 417
• Main Author: Leng, Mary
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Kluwer Academic Publishers 01.06.2002; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 20th century; Axioms; Catastrophe theory; History; History of science and technology; Holism; Indispensability argument; Mathematical models; Mathematical objects; Mathematical realism; Mathematical sciences and techniques; Mathematical set theory; Mathematicians; Mathematics; Naturalism; Philosophy; Realism; Recreation; Science; Scientists; Theory; Holism; Platonism; Quine (W. V. O.); Realism; Practice; Science; Mathematics; Naturalism; Confirmation; Arithmetic

For many philosophers not automatically inclined to Platonism, the indispensability argument for the existence of mathematical objects has provided the best (and perhaps only) evidence for mathematical realism. Recently, however, this argument has been subject to attack, most notably by Penelope Mad...