Ideas from 'Recent Debates on the A Priori' by Hartry Field [2005], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Oxford Studies in Epistemology Vol. 1' (ed/tr Gendler,R/Hawthorne,J) [OUP 2004,978-0-19-928590-7]].

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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 1. Mathematics
If mathematical theories conflict, it may just be that they have different subject matter
                        Full Idea: Unlike logic, in the case of mathematics there may be no genuine conflict between alternative theories: it is natural to think that different theories, if both consistent, are simply about different subjects.
                        From: Hartry Field (Recent Debates on the A Priori [2005], 7)
                        A reaction: For this reason Field places logic at the heart of questions about a priori knowledge, rather than mathematics. My intuitions make me doubt his proposal. Given the very simple basis of, say, arithmetic, I would expect all departments to connect.