Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Mathematical structures successfully predict and explain ... — Carmelics
    Home
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Part of a larger discussion

    Challenges→Conflating nomological structure with physical substance commits a category error that reifies mathematical description into ontology.

    Mathematical structures successfully predict and explain physical phenomena because they capture real structural features. This explanatory success suggests mathematical description reaches ontology.

    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.

    No one has weighed in yet. Be the first to share reasons for or against this statement.

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Key Terms

    Explanatory success(as used in epistemology and philosophy of science)
    When a theory or description actually works well at predicting what happens and helping us understand why things occur the way they do.
    Mathematical structures(example of abstract entities)
    Systems of abstract objects and their relationships, like numbers, sets, or geometric shapes that follow specific logical rules.
    Ontology(Carnap argues this enterprise is based on a mistake)
    The philosophical discipline that tries to answer hard questions about what there really is.
    Reaches ontology(as used in debates about whether mathematics is real or merely invented)
    Successfully describes or accesses what actually exists in reality, rather than just being a useful tool that doesn't tell us about real things.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Explore a random proposition
    Start fresh with something unrelated.
    Structural features(as used in logic and philosophy)
    The basic pattern or framework that makes something work the way it does—like how a building's structure determines its shape.
    physical phenomena(Brentano's preferred account of what we perceive)
    Colours and shapes considered as the primary objects of perception, as opposed to ordinary material objects such as birds

    Connections

    1 linked claim

    Conflating nomological structure with physical substance commits a category erro...

    Related

    Conflating nomological structure with physical substance commits a category erro...

    Details

    Type
    premise
    Perspectives
    0 (0 for, 0 against)

    Open for perspectives

    This idea is waiting for its first supporting or challenging perspective.

    Share the first perspective