47 ideas
9641 | Definitions should be replaceable by primitives, and should not be creative [Brown,JR] |
9634 | Set theory says that natural numbers are an actual infinity (to accommodate their powerset) [Brown,JR] |
9613 | Naïve set theory assumed that there is a set for every condition [Brown,JR] |
9615 | Nowadays conditions are only defined on existing sets [Brown,JR] |
9617 | The 'iterative' view says sets start with the empty set and build up [Brown,JR] |
9642 | A flock of birds is not a set, because a set cannot go anywhere [Brown,JR] |
18755 | Validity is explained as truth in all models, because that relies on the logical terms [McGee] |
9605 | If a proposition is false, then its negation is true [Brown,JR] |
18751 | Natural language includes connectives like 'because' which are not truth-functional [McGee] |
18761 | Second-order variables need to range over more than collections of first-order objects [McGee] |
18753 | An ontologically secure semantics for predicate calculus relies on sets [McGee] |
18754 | Logically valid sentences are analytic truths which are just true because of their logical words [McGee] |
9649 | Axioms are either self-evident, or stipulations, or fallible attempts [Brown,JR] |
18757 | Soundness theorems are uninformative, because they rely on soundness in their proofs [McGee] |
9638 | Berry's Paradox finds a contradiction in the naming of huge numbers [Brown,JR] |
9604 | Mathematics is the only place where we are sure we are right [Brown,JR] |
9622 | 'There are two apples' can be expressed logically, with no mention of numbers [Brown,JR] |
9648 | π is a 'transcendental' number, because it is not the solution of an equation [Brown,JR] |
9621 | Mathematics represents the world through structurally similar models. [Brown,JR] |
9646 | There is no limit to how many ways something can be proved in mathematics [Brown,JR] |
9647 | Computers played an essential role in proving the four-colour theorem of maps [Brown,JR] |
18760 | The culmination of Euclidean geometry was axioms that made all models isomorphic [McGee] |
9643 | Set theory may represent all of mathematics, without actually being mathematics [Brown,JR] |
9644 | When graphs are defined set-theoretically, that won't cover unlabelled graphs [Brown,JR] |
9625 | To see a structure in something, we must already have the idea of the structure [Brown,JR] |
9628 | Sets seem basic to mathematics, but they don't suit structuralism [Brown,JR] |
9606 | The irrationality of root-2 was achieved by intellect, not experience [Brown,JR] |
9612 | There is an infinity of mathematical objects, so they can't be physical [Brown,JR] |
9610 | Numbers are not abstracted from particulars, because each number is a particular [Brown,JR] |
9620 | Empiricists base numbers on objects, Platonists base them on properties [Brown,JR] |
9639 | Does some mathematics depend entirely on notation? [Brown,JR] |
9629 | For nomalists there are no numbers, only numerals [Brown,JR] |
9630 | The most brilliant formalist was Hilbert [Brown,JR] |
9608 | There are no constructions for many highly desirable results in mathematics [Brown,JR] |
9645 | Constructivists say p has no value, if the value depends on Goldbach's Conjecture [Brown,JR] |
9619 | David's 'Napoleon' is about something concrete and something abstract [Brown,JR] |
15959 | If the substantial form of brass implies its stability, how can it melt and remain brass? [Alexander,P] |
15956 | The peripatetics treated forms and real qualities as independent of matter, and non-material [Alexander,P] |
15975 | Can the qualities of a body be split into two groups, where the smaller explains the larger? [Alexander,P] |
9611 | 'Abstract' nowadays means outside space and time, not concrete, not physical [Brown,JR] |
9609 | The older sense of 'abstract' is where 'redness' or 'group' is abstracted from particulars [Brown,JR] |
9640 | A term can have not only a sense and a reference, but also a 'computational role' [Brown,JR] |
18762 | A maxim claims that if we are allowed to assert a sentence, that means it must be true [McGee] |
15963 | Science has been partly motivated by the belief that the universe is run by God's laws [Alexander,P] |
9635 | Given atomism at one end, and a finite universe at the other, there are no physical infinities [Brown,JR] |
15951 | Alchemists tried to separate out essences, which influenced later chemistry [Alexander,P] |
15981 | Absolute space either provides locations, or exists but lacks 'marks' for locations [Alexander,P] |