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Robert Knowles, Platonic Relations and Mathematical Explanations, The Philosophical Quarterly, Volume 71, Issue 3, July 2021, Pages 623–644, https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqaa053
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Abstract
Some scientific explanations appear to turn on pure mathematical claims. The enhanced indispensability argument appeals to these ‘mathematical explanations’ in support of mathematical platonism. I argue that the success of this argument rests on the claim that mathematical explanations locate pure mathematical facts on which their physical explananda depend, and that any account of mathematical explanation that supports this claim fails to provide an adequate understanding of mathematical explanation.
mathematical explanation, enhanced indispensability argument, mathematical platonism, ontic dependence, mathematical structuralism, underdetermination
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Scots Philosophical Association and the University of St Andrews.
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