Full Idea
All aspects of the object that can give rise to a mathematical thought rather than to a perception or a sensation can be meaningfully turned into the properties of the thing not only as it is with me, but also as it is without me.
Gist of Idea
The aspects of objects that can be mathematical allow it to have objective properties
Source
Quentin Meillassoux (After Finitude; the necessity of contingency [2006], 1)
Book Reference
Meillassoux: 'After Finitude: the necessity of contingency', ed/tr. Brassier,R [Bloomsbury 2008], p.3
A Reaction
This is Meillassoux's spin on the primary/secondary distinction, which he places at the heart of the scientific revolution. Cartesian dualism offers a separate space for the secondary qualities. He is appalled when philosophers reject the distinction.