Single Idea 8914

[catalogued under 18. Thought / E. Abstraction / 5. Abstracta by Negation]

Full Idea

It is thought that sets are abstract, abstract objects do not exist in space, so sets must not exist in space. But it is not unnatural to say that a set of books is located on a certain shelf in the library.

Gist of Idea

Sets are said to be abstract and non-spatial, but a set of books can be on a shelf

Source

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

Book Reference

'Stanford Online Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', ed/tr. Stanford University [plato.stanford.edu], p.5


A Reaction

The arguments against non-spatiality of abstractions seem to me to be conclusive. Not being able to assign a location to the cosine function is on a par with not knowing where my thoughts are located in my brain.