Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 25 No. 4, 2005.
Original scientific paper
WHY 2+2=4?
BORAN BERČIĆ
Abstract
The starting point of this article is the ontological question: What makes it true that 2+2=4?, that is, what are the truth makers of mathematical propositions? Of course, the satisfactory theory in the philosophy of mathematics has to answer semantical question: What are mathematical propositions about? Also, epistemological question: How do we know them?, as well. Author compares five theories in the philosophy of mathematics, that is, five accounts of the nature of truth makers in mathematical discourse: fictionalism (there are no truth makers because entities of mathematics are fictions, though useful fictions); nominalism (mathematical propositions are true by definition, so the truth makers are in the language); physicalism (mathematical propositions are inductive generalizations from experience, so, the truth makers are physical facts in the world); conceptualism (mathematics reflects the way we think about things, so, the truth makers are ultimately psychological facts) and Platonism (mathematics is about per se existing mathematical reality).
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
2468
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2005.
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