Full Idea
Hellman represents statements of pure mathematics as elliptical for modal conditionals of a certain sort.
Gist of Idea
Statements of pure mathematics are elliptical for a sort of modal conditional
Source
report of Geoffrey Hellman (Mathematics without Numbers [1989]) by Charles Chihara - A Structural Account of Mathematics 5.3
Book Reference
Chihara,Charles: 'A Structural Account of Mathematics' [OUP 2004], p.114
A Reaction
It's a pity there is such difficulty in understanding conditionals (see Graham Priest on the subject). I intuit a grain of truth in this, though I take maths to reflect the structure of the actual world (with possibilities being part of that world).