Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Pythagoras, JP Burgess / G Rosen and Max J. Cresswell

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6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 1. Mathematical Platonism / b. Against mathematical platonism

9934	Number words became nouns around the time of Plato [Burgess/Rosen]
	Full Idea: The transition from using number words purely as adjectives to using them extensively as nouns has been traced to 'around the time of Plato'.
	From: JP Burgess / G Rosen (A Subject with No Object [1997], III.C.2.a)
	A reaction: [The cite Kneale and Kneale VI,§2 for this] It is just too tempting to think that in fact Plato (and early Platonists) were totally responsible for this shift, since the whole reification of numbers seems to be inherently platonist.