Switch to: Citations

Add references

You must login to add references.
  1. Explanation in Mathematics.Paolo Mancosu - 2014 - In Edward N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford, CA: The Metaphysics Research Lab.
    The philosophical analysis of mathematical explanations concerns itself with two different, although connected, areas of investigation. The first area addresses the problem of whether mathematics can play an explanatory role in the natural and social sciences. The second deals with the problem of whether mathematical explanations occur within mathematics itself. Accordingly, this entry surveys the contributions to both areas, it shows their relevance to the history of philosophy and science, it articulates their connection, and points to the philosophical pay-offs to (...)
    Direct download (2 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   47 citations  
  • Explanatory unification.Philip Kitcher - 1981 - Philosophy of Science 48 (4):507-531.
    The official model of explanation proposed by the logical empiricists, the covering law model, is subject to familiar objections. The goal of the present paper is to explore an unofficial view of explanation which logical empiricists have sometimes suggested, the view of explanation as unification. I try to show that this view can be developed so as to provide insight into major episodes in the history of science, and that it can overcome some of the most serious difficulties besetting the (...)
    Direct download (9 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   576 citations  
  • Introduction to mathematical logic.Elliott Mendelson - 1964 - Princeton, N.J.,: Van Nostrand.
    The Fourth Edition of this long-established text retains all the key features of the previous editions, covering the basic topics of a solid first course in ...
    Direct download (2 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   188 citations  
  • Mathematical explanation.Mark Steiner - 1978 - Philosophical Studies 34 (2):135 - 151.
  • Mathematical explanation and the theory of why-questions.David Sandborg - 1998 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 49 (4):603-624.
    Van Fraassen and others have urged that judgements of explanations are relative to why-questions; explanations should be considered good in so far as they effectively answer why-questions. In this paper, I evaluate van Fraassen's theory with respect to mathematical explanation. I show that his theory cannot recognize any proofs as explanatory. I also present an example that contradicts the main thesis of the why-question approach—an explanation that appears explanatory despite its inability to answer the why-question that motivated it. This example (...)
    Direct download (10 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   23 citations  
  • Generalizing König's infinity lemma.Robert H. Cowen - 1977 - Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 18 (2):243-247.
  • A new proof of the compactness theorem for propositional logic.Robert H. Cowen - 1970 - Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 11 (1):79-80.
  • Explanation, independence and realism in mathematics.Michael D. Resnik & David Kushner - 1987 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 38 (2):141-158.
  • Logic with the quantifier “there exist uncountably many”.H. Jerome Keisler - 1970 - Annals of Mathematical Logic 1 (1):1-93.
    Direct download (3 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   106 citations  
  • Why do mathematicians re-prove theorems?John W. Dawson Jr - 2006 - Philosophia Mathematica 14 (3):269-286.
    From ancient times to the present, the discovery and presentation of new proofs of previously established theorems has been a salient feature of mathematical practice. Why? What purposes are served by such endeavors? And how do mathematicians judge whether two proofs of the same theorem are essentially different? Consideration of such questions illuminates the roles that proofs play in the validation and communication of mathematical knowledge and raises issues that have yet to be resolved by mathematical logicians. The Appendix, in (...)
    Direct download (8 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   33 citations  
  • The compactness of first-order logic:from gödel to lindström.John W. Dawson - 1993 - History and Philosophy of Logic 14 (1):15-37.
    Though regarded today as one of the most important results in logic, the compactness theorem was largely ignored until nearly two decades after its discovery. This paper describes the vicissitudes of its evolution and transformation during the period 1930-1970, with special attention to the roles of Kurt Gödel, A. I. Maltsev, Leon Henkin, Abraham Robinson, and Alfred Tarski.
    Direct download (3 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   7 citations  
  • [Introduction].Wilfrid Hodges - 1986 - Journal of Symbolic Logic 51 (4):865.
    We consider two formalisations of the notion of a compositionalsemantics for a language, and find some equivalent statements in termsof substitutions. We prove a theorem stating necessary and sufficientconditions for the existence of a canonical compositional semanticsextending a given partial semantics, after discussing what features onewould want such an extension to have. The theorem involves someassumptions about semantical categories in the spirit of Husserl andTarski.
    Direct download (10 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   71 citations  
  • [Introduction].Wilfrid Hodges - 1988 - Journal of Symbolic Logic 53 (1):1.
    We consider two formalisations of the notion of a compositionalsemantics for a language, and find some equivalent statements in termsof substitutions. We prove a theorem stating necessary and sufficientconditions for the existence of a canonical compositional semanticsextending a given partial semantics, after discussing what features onewould want such an extension to have. The theorem involves someassumptions about semantical categories in the spirit of Husserl andTarski.
    Direct download (10 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   70 citations  
  • The completeness of the first-order functional calculus.Leon Henkin - 1949 - Journal of Symbolic Logic 14 (3):159-166.
  • Explanation and scientific understanding.Michael Friedman - 1974 - Journal of Philosophy 71 (1):5-19.
  • Models and Ultraproducts: An Introduction.J. L. Bell & A. B. Slomson - 1972 - Journal of Symbolic Logic 37 (4):763-764.
  • Logical and semantic purity.Andrew Arana - 2008 - ProtoSociology 25:36-48.
    Many mathematicians have sought ‘pure’ proofs of theorems. There are different takes on what a ‘pure’ proof is, though, and it’s important to be clear on their differences, because they can easily be conflated. In this paper I want to distinguish between two of them.
    Direct download (2 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   12 citations  
  • Explanatory unification and the causal structure of the world.Philip Kitcher - 1989 - In Philip Kitcher & Wesley Salmon (eds.), Scientific Explanation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 410-505.
  • Beyond unification.Johannes Hafner & Paolo Mancosu - 2008 - In Paolo Mancosu (ed.), The Philosophy of Mathematical Practice. Oxford University Press. pp. 151--178.
  • Mathematical explanation: Why it matters.Paolo Mancosu - 2008 - In The Philosophy of Mathematical Practice. Oxford University Press. pp. 134--149.
  • Purity as an ideal of proof.Michael Detlefsen - 2008 - In Paolo Mancosu (ed.), The Philosophy of Mathematical Practice. Oxford University Press. pp. 179-197.
    Various ideals of purity are surveyed and discussed. These include the classical Aristotelian ideal, as well as certain neo-classical and contemporary ideals. The focus is on a type of purity ideal I call topical purity. This is purity which emphasizes a certain symmetry between the conceptual resources used to prove a theorem and those needed for the clarification of its content. The basic idea is that the resources of proof ought ideally to be restricted to those which determine its content.
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   11 citations  
  • Set Theory.Thomas Jech - 1999 - Studia Logica 63 (2):300-300.
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   322 citations  
  • [Omnibus Review].Thomas Jech - 1992 - Journal of Symbolic Logic 57 (1):261-262.
    Reviewed Works:John R. Steel, A. S. Kechris, D. A. Martin, Y. N. Moschovakis, Scales on $\Sigma^1_1$ Sets.Yiannis N. Moschovakis, Scales on Coinductive Sets.Donald A. Martin, John R. Steel, The Extent of Scales in $L$.John R. Steel, Scales in $L$.
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   218 citations  
  • Consequences of the Axiom of Choice.Paul Howard & Jean E. Rubin - 2005 - Bulletin of Symbolic Logic 11 (1):61-63.