Why Is There Philosophy of Mathematics At All?

Hacking, Ian

ISBN 10: 1107658152 / ISBN 13: 9781107658158

Verlag: Cambridge University Press, 2014

Beschreibung

Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers S_441863380

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: Why Is There Philosophy of Mathematics At All?
• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2014
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN-10: 1107658152
• ISBN-13: 9781107658158
• Einband: paperback
• Zustand: Very Good

Über diesen Titel

Inhaltsangabe

This truly philosophical book takes us back to fundamentals - the sheer experience of proof, and the enigmatic relation of mathematics to nature. It asks unexpected questions, such as 'what makes mathematics mathematics?', 'where did proof come from and how did it evolve?', and 'how did the distinction between pure and applied mathematics come into being?' In a wide-ranging discussion that is both immersed in the past and unusually attuned to the competing philosophical ideas of contemporary mathematicians, it shows that proof and other forms of mathematical exploration continue to be living, evolving practices - responsive to new technologies, yet embedded in permanent (and astonishing) facts about human beings. It distinguishes several distinct types of application of mathematics, and shows how each leads to a different philosophical conundrum. Here is a remarkable body of new philosophical thinking about proofs, applications, and other mathematical activities.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Ian Hacking is a retired professor of Collège de France, Chair of Philosophy and History of Scientific Concepts, and retired University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. His most recent books include The Social Construction of What? (1999), An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic (Cambridge University Press, 2001), The Emergence of Probability (Cambridge University Press, 2006), Scientific Reason (2009) and Exercises in Analysis (Cambridge University Press, 2009).