Single Idea 8958

[catalogued under 6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / a. Numbers]

Full Idea

Field's nominalist version of science develops a version of Newtonian gravitational theory, where no quantifiers range over mathematical entities, and space-time points and regions play the role of surrogates for real numbers.

Gist of Idea

In Field's version of science, space-time points replace real numbers

Source

report of Hartry Field (Science without Numbers [1980]) by Zoltán Gendler Szabó - Nominalism 5.1

Book Reference

'The Oxford Handbook of Metaphysics', ed/tr. Loux,M /Zimmerman,D [OUP 2005], p.36


A Reaction

This seems to be a very artificial contrivance, but Field has launched a programme for rewriting science so that numbers can be omitted. All of this is Field's rebellion against the Indispensability Argument for mathematics. I sympathise.