Skip to main content
Log in

The application of mathematics in science

Sorin Bangu: The applicability of mathematics in science: Indispensability and ontology. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, xii+252pp, £55 HB

  • Essay Review
  • Published:
Metascience Aims and scope

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Notes

  1. By mathematical explanation I mean mathematical explanation of physical facts, often called external mathematical explanation. Internal mathematical explanations are mathematical explanations of mathematical facts, and these are not considered in AMS or here. For a nice description of both types of explanation see Hafner and Mancosu (2005).

  2. This ‘enhanced indispensability argument’ is presented most rigorously by Alan Baker (2005, 2009).

References

  • Baker, A. 2005. Are there genuine mathematical explanations of physical phenomena? Mind 114(454): 223–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, A. 2009. Mathematical explanation in science. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 60(3): 611–633.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Field, H. 1980. Science without numbers: A defence of nominalism. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hafner, J., and P. Mancosu. 2005. The varieties of mathematical explanation. In Visualization, explanation and reasoning styles in mathematics, ed. P. Mancosu, K.F. Jørgensen, and S.A. Pedersen, 215–250. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Quine, W.V. 1981. Theories and things. MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, M. 1998. The applicability of mathematics as a philosophical problem. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigner, E. 1960. The unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences. Communications in Pure and Applied Mathematics 13: 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alex Koo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Koo, A. The application of mathematics in science. Metascience 23, 263–268 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11016-014-9875-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11016-014-9875-x

Navigation