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Ideas for 'Commentary on 'De Anima'', 'The Philosophy of Logical Atomism' and 'German Philosophy: a very short introduction'

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6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 9. Fictional Mathematics

6104	Numbers are classes of classes, and hence fictions of fictions [Russell]
	Full Idea: Numbers are classes of classes, and classes are logical fictions, so that numbers are, as it were, fictions at two removes, fictions of fictions.
	From: Bertrand Russell (The Philosophy of Logical Atomism [1918], §VIII)
	A reaction: This summarises the findings of Russell and Whitehead's researches into logicism. Gödel may have proved that project impossible, but there is now debate about that. Personally I think of numbers as names of patterns.