Optimisation and mathematical explanation: doing the Lévy Walk
Synthese 191 (3) (2014)
Abstract
The indispensability argument seeks to establish the existence of mathematical objects. The success of the indispensability argument turns on finding cases of genuine extra- mathematical explanation. In this paper, I identify a new case of extra- mathematical explanation, involving the search patterns of fully-aquatic marine predators. I go on to use this case to predict the prevalence of extra- mathematical explanation in scienceAuthor's Profile
DOI
10.1007/s11229-013-0284-2
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Citations of this work
Mathematical Explanation by Law.Sam Baron - 2019 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 70 (3):683-717.
A Counterfactual Approach to Explanation in Mathematics.Sam Baron, Mark Colyvan & David Ripley - 2020 - Philosophia Mathematica 28 (1):1-34.
Indispensability arguments in the philosophy of mathematics.Mark Colyvan - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
References found in this work
Science Without Numbers: A Defence of Nominalism.Hartry H. Field - 1980 - Princeton, NJ, USA: Princeton University Press.
