Numbers as Cognitive Tools: An Empirically
Numbers as Cognitive Tools: An Empirically Informed Nominalistic Account of the Nature of Numbers by César Frederico dos Santos
- Numbers as Cognitive Tools: An Empirically Informed Nominalistic Account of the Nature of Numbers
- César Frederico dos Santos
- Page: 0
- Format: pdf, ePub, mobi, fb2
- ISBN: 9783031984273
- Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
Epub book download Numbers as Cognitive Tools: An Empirically Informed Nominalistic Account of the Nature of Numbers 9783031984273 iBook
Overview
This books offers a novel account of the nature of numbers firmly grounded in results from numerical cognition and the philosophy of mathematics. Drawing on empirical data on the human experience of what we call “numbers,” the author shows that numbers do not exist as abstract objects, but that the idea that they do is a useful cognitive tool. Contrary to the platonist view, according to which arithmetic is true of a realm of abstract entities, the nominalistic account presented in this book shows arithmetic to be true of descriptions of structural properties of techniques such as counting and calculating procedures. This book is of interest to both philosophers and cognitive scientists who want to have a deeper understanding of what numbers are.