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Full Idea
'There are two apples' can be recast as 'x is an apple and y is an apple, and x isn't y, and if z is an apple it is the same as x or y', which makes no appeal at all to mathematics.
Gist of Idea
'There are two apples' can be expressed logically, with no mention of numbers
Source
James Robert Brown (Philosophy of Mathematics [1999], Ch. 4)
Book Ref
Brown,James Robert: 'Philosophy of Mathematics' [Routledge 2002], p.53
A Reaction
He cites this as the basis of Hartry Field's claim that science can be done without numbers. The logic is ∃x∃y∀z(Ax&Ay&(x¬=y)&(Az→z=x∨z=y)).