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Mathematics

Isn't everything relative? For example, mathematics was invented by man — did it exist before man invented it?
Accepted:
October 14, 2005

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Alexander George
October 14, 2005 (changed October 14, 2005) Permalink

You would have thought that we would have worked out by now whethermathematics is a human invention or not. We haven't. There is still aheated debate between those who believe that mathematics describes arealm of entities (numbers, sets, functions, etc.) that exist quiteindependently of us and those who believe that the mathematical worldis in some sense constructed as a result of human activity. This is thecontrast between platonism and constructivism that has been touched onelsewhere here.

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