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Full-Text Articles in History of Philosophy
Why Are They Called Real Numbers If They Aren’T Real, And Other Such Questions?, Rahmat Rashid
Why Are They Called Real Numbers If They Aren’T Real, And Other Such Questions?, Rahmat Rashid
Honors Program Theses
This thesis studies the position of mathematical realism (the position that mathematical objects have ontological status) through history, starting with Pythagoras up until W.V.O Quine, and examining how these positions originate from each other. I hope to see how the position has changed and why, and provide an argument against the strongest of the realist positions, drawing on this extensive background. Finally, I advance my own argument against the strongest arguments for mathematical realism, and propose alternatives to a view of mathematical realism.