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Single Idea 10182

[from 'Structures and Structuralism in Phil of Maths' by E Reck / M Price, in 6. Mathematics / B. Foundations for Mathematics / 7. Mathematical Structuralism / b. Varieties of structuralism ]

Full Idea

There are four main variants of structuralism in the philosophy of mathematics - formalist structuralism, relativist structuralism, universalist structuralism (with modal variants), and pattern structuralism.

Gist of Idea

There are Formalist, Relativist, Universalist and Pattern structuralism

Source

E Reck / M Price (Structures and Structuralism in Phil of Maths [2000], §9)


A Reaction

I'm not sure where Chihara's later book fits into this, though it is at the nominalist end of the spectrum. Shapiro and Resnik do patterns (the latter more loosely); Hellman does modal universalism; Quine does the relativist version. Dedekind?