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Single Idea 8913

[from 'Abstract Objects' by Gideon Rosen, in 18. Thought / E. Abstraction / 5. Abstracta by Negation ]

Full Idea

The natural view of chess is not that it is a non-spatiotemporal mathematical object, but that it was invented at a certain time and place, that it has changed over the years, and so on.

Gist of Idea

Chess may be abstract, but it has existed in specific space and time

Source

Gideon Rosen (Abstract Objects [2001], 'Non-spat')

Book Reference

'Stanford Online Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', ed/tr. Stanford University [plato.stanford.edu], p.4


A Reaction

This strikes me as being undeniable, and being an incredibly important point. Logicians seem to want to subsume things like games into the highly abstract world of logic and numbers. In fact the direction of explanation should be reversed.