Full Idea
The original introduction of abstract objects was a bad way of doing justice to the insight that mathematics is concerned with structure.
Gist of Idea
Abstract objects were a bad way of explaining the structure in mathematics
Source
Philip Kitcher (The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge [1984], 06.1)
Book Reference
Kitcher,Philip: 'The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge' [OUP 1984], p.107
A Reaction
I'm a fan of explanations in metaphysics, and hence find the concept of 'bad' explanations in metaphysics particularly intriguing.