Re: Platonism

tchow_at_lsa.umich.edu
Date: 12/02/04 

Date: 02 Dec 2004 01:12:42 GMT

In article <41ae95e8.45508732@netnews.att.net>,
Lester Zick <lesterDELzick@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>I don't know that Plato had any beliefs about numbers. And I don't
>know what platonic beliefs about numbers would be, and I really don't
>think we should describe beliefs about numbers, axioms, and math as
>platonic or not. They're just beliefs, attitudes, quidities, or
>whatever and can be handled or analyzed that way instead of whether
>they're platonic or not. Otherwise you're arguing the wrong thing. I
>have lots of very specific arguments regarding the foundations of math
>but I don't run around trying to argue that they're platonic or not. I
>try to focus on whether they're correct or not.

Earlier you said:

>it really doesn't matter if you're a platonist. That's what
>I find so irritating about the subject. It only matters what you can
>prove of things in relation to one another. The rest is just so much
>hot air regardless of what one believes.

I took you to mean, "It doesn't really matter if you subscribe to the
philosophy that is commonly, though maybe not accurately, called
`platonism.'" I disagree with that. In light of your latest message,
I see that perhaps what you meant was, "It doesn't matter whether or not
you call your beliefs `platonist' or whether they agree with Plato's;
what matters is whether your beliefs stand or fall on their own merits."
If that's what you meant, then I agree with you. However, I don't think
that's what people are arguing about. They're arguing about the validity
of certain beliefs, which they happen to be calling `platonism' for
convenience. Presumably this should not be so irritating to you, since
it's a philosophical argument rather than a semantic one. 

-- 
Tim Chow       tchow-at-alum-dot-mit-dot-edu
The range of our projectiles---even ... the artillery---however great, will
never exceed four of those miles of which as many thousand separate us from
the center of the earth.  ---Galileo, Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Platonism
    ... >>I don't know that Plato had any beliefs about numbers. ... >philosophy that is commonly, though maybe not accurately, called ... platonism it doesn't convey anything that seems open to discussion on ... What I object to are mathematicians or other scientists arguing ...
    (comp.theory)
  • Re: Platonism
    ... >>I don't know that Plato had any beliefs about numbers. ... >philosophy that is commonly, though maybe not accurately, called ... platonism it doesn't convey anything that seems open to discussion on ... What I object to are mathematicians or other scientists arguing ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Platonism
    ... >I don't know that Plato had any beliefs about numbers. ... Otherwise you're arguing the wrong thing. ... philosophy that is commonly, though maybe not accurately, called ... which they happen to be calling `platonism' for ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Platonism
    ... >>But platonism? ... I maintain that platonistic beliefs about the set of all integers ... Nelson illustrates what happens if you remove ... have lots of very specific arguments regarding the foundations of math ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Platonism
    ... >>But platonism? ... I maintain that platonistic beliefs about the set of all integers ... Nelson illustrates what happens if you remove ... have lots of very specific arguments regarding the foundations of math ...
    (comp.theory)
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