Øystein Linnebo is a Norwegian philosopher specializing in the philosophy of mathematics and logic. He is known for his work on mathematical platonism, abstraction principles, and the metaphysics of mathematical objects, particularly his defense of 'thin' platonism — the view that abstract objects exist but impose minimal ontological commitments. He has also developed influential accounts of potential infinity and the logic of abstraction.
Developed 'thin platonism' — the view that mathematical objects exist but are ontologically lightweight, requiring no causal or spatiotemporal grounding
Authored Thin Objects (2018), a systematic defense of abstraction-based ontology in mathematics
Advanced potentialism about set theory, arguing that the set-theoretic universe is indefinitely extensible rather than a completed totality
Contributed foundational work on the logic and epistemology of abstraction principles in the neo-Fregean tradition
Authored the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Platonism in the Philosophy of Mathematics