Full Idea
We cannot imagine a shortstop independent of a baseball infield, or a piece that plays the role of black's queen bishop independent of a chess game.
Gist of Idea
Baseball positions and chess pieces depend entirely on context
Source
Stewart Shapiro (Philosophy of Mathematics [1997], 3.1)
Book Reference
Shapiro,Stewart: 'Philosophy of Mathematics:structure and ontology' [OUP 1997], p.76
A Reaction
This is the basic thought that leads to the structuralist view of things. I must be careful because I like structuralism, but I have attacked the functionalist view in many areas, because it neglects the essences of the functioning entities.