12 ideas
| 6299 | Axioms are often affirmed simply because they produce results which have been accepted [Resnik] |
| 13418 | The old problems with the axiom of choice are probably better ascribed to the law of excluded middle [Parsons,C] |
| 6304 | Mathematical realism says that maths exists, is largely true, and is independent of proofs [Resnik] |
| 6300 | Mathematical constants and quantifiers only exist as locations within structures or patterns [Resnik] |
| 6303 | Sets are positions in patterns [Resnik] |
| 6302 | Structuralism must explain why a triangle is a whole, and not a random set of points [Resnik] |
| 6295 | There are too many mathematical objects for them all to be mental or physical [Resnik] |
| 6296 | Maths is pattern recognition and representation, and its truth and proofs are based on these [Resnik] |
| 6301 | Congruence is the strongest relationship of patterns, equivalence comes next, and mutual occurrence is the weakest [Resnik] |
| 13419 | If functions are transfinite objects, finitists can have no conception of them [Parsons,C] |
| 13417 | If a mathematical structure is rejected from a physical theory, it retains its mathematical status [Parsons,C] |
| 15877 | The aim of science is just to create a comprehensive, elegant language to describe brute facts [Poincaré, by Harré] |