A Course of Philosophy and Mathematics


Book Description

Intro -- Contents -- Prolegomena by Giuliano di Bernardo -- Preface -- The Scope and the Structure of this Project -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1 -- Philosophy, Science, and The Dialectic of Rational Dynamicity -- 1.1. The Meaning of Philosophy and Preliminary Concepts -- 1.2. The Abstract Study of a Being -- 1.2.1. Epistemological Presuppositions -- 1.2.2. The Significance and the Presence of a Being -- 1.2.3. The Knowledge of a Being -- Structuralism in Physics -- Newton's Three Laws of Kinematics -- Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation -- Conservation of Mass and Energy -- Laws of Thermodynamics -- Electrostatic Laws -- Quantum Mechanics -- Structuralism in Biology -- Structuralism in Linguistics -- Philosophical Structuralism and Hermeneutics -- 1.2.4. The Modes of Being -- 1.3. The Dialectic of Rational Dynamicity -- 1.3.1. Dynamized Time -- 1.3.2. Dynamized Space and the Problem of the Extension of the Quantum Formalism -- 1.3.3. Consciousness, the World, and the Dialectic of Rational Dynamicity -- 1.3.4. Matter, Life, and Consciousness -- Chapter 2 -- Foundations of Mathematical Analysis and Analytic Geometry -- 2.1. Sets, Relations, and Groups -- 2.1.2. Basic Operations on Sets -- Applications of Set Theory to Probability Theory -- 2.1.3. Relations -- 2.1.4. Groups -- 2.2. Number Systems, Algebra, and Geometry -- 2.2.1. Axiomatic Number Theory -- The System of Natural Numbers -- Principle of Mathematical Induction -- Recursion -- Properties of the System of Natural Numbers -- Enumeration -- Order in N and Ordinal Numbers -- Division -- 2.2.2. The Set of Integral Numbers -- 2.2.3. The Set of Rational Numbers -- 2.2.4. The Set of Real Numbers -- Dedekind Algebra -- R as a Field -- The Absolute Value of a Real Number -- Exponentiation and Logarithm -- Properties of the System of the Real Numbers.




Philosophy of Mathematics


Book Description

The philosophy of mathematics is an exciting subject. Philosophy of Mathematics: Classic and Contemporary Studies explores the foundations of mathematical thought. The aim of this book is to encourage young mathematicians to think about the philosophical issues behind fundamental concepts and about different views on mathematical objects and mathematical knowledge. With this new approach, the author rekindles an interest in philosophical subjects surrounding the foundations of mathematics. He offers the mathematical motivations behind the topics under debate. He introduces various philosophical positions ranging from the classic views to more contemporary ones, including subjects which are more engaged with mathematical logic. Most books on philosophy of mathematics have little to no focus on the effects of philosophical views on mathematical practice, and no concern on giving crucial mathematical results and their philosophical relevance, consequences, reasons, etc. This book fills this gap. The book can be used as a textbook for a one-semester or even one-year course on philosophy of mathematics. "Other textbooks on the philosophy of mathematics are aimed at philosophers. This book is aimed at mathematicians. Since the author is a mathematician, it is a valuable addition to the literature." - Mark Balaguer, California State University, Los Angeles "There are not many such texts available for mathematics students. I applaud efforts to foster the dialogue between mathematics and philosophy." - Michele Friend, George Washington University and CNRS, Lille, France




An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mathematics


Book Description

A fascinating journey through intriguing mathematical and philosophical territory - a lively introduction to this contemporary topic.




Philosophy of Mathematics


Book Description

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. Øystein 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.




Mathematics: A Concise History and Philosophy


Book Description

This is a concise introductory textbook for a one-semester (40-class) course in the history and philosophy of mathematics. It is written for mathemat ics majors, philosophy students, history of science students, and (future) secondary school mathematics teachers. The only prerequisite is a solid command of precalculus mathematics. On the one hand, this book is designed to help mathematics majors ac quire a philosophical and cultural understanding of their subject by means of doing actual mathematical problems from different eras. On the other hand, it is designed to help philosophy, history, and education students come to a deeper understanding of the mathematical side of culture by means of writing short essays. The way I myself teach the material, stu dents are given a choice between mathematical assignments, and more his torical or philosophical assignments. (Some sample assignments and tests are found in an appendix to this book. ) This book differs from standard textbooks in several ways. First, it is shorter, and thus more accessible to students who have trouble coping with vast amounts of reading. Second, there are many detailed explanations of the important mathematical procedures actually used by famous mathe maticians, giving more mathematically talented students a greater oppor tunity to learn the history and philosophy by way of problem solving.




New Directions in the Philosophy of Mathematics


Book Description

The traditional debate among philosophers of mathematics is whether there is an external mathematical reality, something out there to be discovered, or whether mathematics is the product of the human mind. This provocative book, now available in a revised and expanded paperback edition, goes beyond foundationalist questions to offer what has been called a "postmodern" assessment of the philosophy of mathematics--one that addresses issues of theoretical importance in terms of mathematical experience. By bringing together essays of leading philosophers, mathematicians, logicians, and computer scientists, Thomas Tymoczko reveals an evolving effort to account for the nature of mathematics in relation to other human activities. These accounts include such topics as the history of mathematics as a field of study, predictions about how computers will influence the future organization of mathematics, and what processes a proof undergoes before it reaches publishable form. This expanded edition now contains essays by Penelope Maddy, Michael D. Resnik, and William P. Thurston that address the nature of mathematical proofs. The editor has provided a new afterword and a supplemental bibliography of recent work.




Lectures on the Philosophy of Mathematics


Book Description

An introduction to the philosophy of mathematics grounded in mathematics and motivated by mathematical inquiry and practice. In this book, Joel David Hamkins offers an introduction to the philosophy of mathematics that is grounded in mathematics and motivated by mathematical inquiry and practice. He treats philosophical issues as they arise organically in mathematics, discussing such topics as platonism, realism, logicism, structuralism, formalism, infinity, and intuitionism in mathematical contexts. He organizes the book by mathematical themes--numbers, rigor, geometry, proof, computability, incompleteness, and set theory--that give rise again and again to philosophical considerations.




Philosophy of Mathematics


Book Description

The twentieth century has witnessed an unprecedented 'crisis in the foundations of mathematics', featuring a world-famous paradox (Russell's Paradox), a challenge to 'classical' mathematics from a world-famous mathematician (the 'mathematical intuitionism' of Brouwer), a new foundational school (Hilbert's Formalism), and the profound incompleteness results of Kurt Gödel. In the same period, the cross-fertilization of mathematics and philosophy resulted in a new sort of 'mathematical philosophy', associated most notably (but in different ways) with Bertrand Russell, W. V. Quine, and Gödel himself, and which remains at the focus of Anglo-Saxon philosophical discussion. The present collection brings together in a convenient form the seminal articles in the philosophy of mathematics by these and other major thinkers. It is a substantially revised version of the edition first published in 1964 and includes a revised bibliography. The volume will be welcomed as a major work of reference at this level in the field.




Philosophy of Mathematics


Book Description

The philosophy of mathematics plays a vital role in the mature philosophy of Charles S. Peirce. Peirce received rigorous mathematical training from his father and his philosophy carries on in decidedly mathematical and symbolic veins. For Peirce, math was a philosophical tool and many of his most productive ideas rest firmly on the foundation of mathematical principles. This volume collects Peirce's most important writings on the subject, many appearing in print for the first time. Peirce's determination to understand matter, the cosmos, and "the grand design" of the universe remain relevant for contemporary students of science, technology, and symbolic logic.




The Philosophy of Mathematical Practice


Book Description

There is an urgent need in philosophy of mathematics for new approaches which pay closer attention to mathematical practice. This book will blaze the trail: it offers philosophical analyses of important characteristics of contemporary mathematics and of many aspects of mathematical activity which escape purely formal logical treatment.