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Ideas for '', 'Philosophy of Mind: 1950-2000' and 'What are Sets and What are they For?'

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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 4. Using Numbers / g. Applying mathematics

14246	If mathematics purely concerned mathematical objects, there would be no applied mathematics [Oliver/Smiley]
	Full Idea: If mathematics was purely concerned with mathematical objects, there would be no room for applied mathematics.
	From: Oliver,A/Smiley,T (What are Sets and What are they For? [2006], 5.1)
	A reaction: Love it! Of course, they are using 'objects' in the rather Fregean sense of genuine abstract entities. I don't see why fictionalism shouldn't allow maths to be wholly 'pure', although we have invented fictions which actually have application.