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Some Remarks on the Physicalist Account of Mathematics
Department of Logic, Institute of Philosophy, E?tv?s Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- 1 Department of Logic, Institute of Philosophy, E?tv?s Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Open Journal of Philosophy·Volume 02 (2012)·Pages 165–170·Published 22 May 2012·DOI10.4236/ojpp.2012.22025
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Abstract
The paper comments on a rather uncommon approach to mathematics called physicalist formalism. According to this view, the formal systems mathematicians concern with are nothing more and nothing less than genuine physical systems. I give a brief review on the main theses, then I provide some arguments, concerning mostly with the practice of mathematics and the uniqueness of formal systems, aiming to show the implausibility of this radical view.
KeywordsPhysicalismFormalismPhilosophy of Mathematics
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