Mathematics and the real world
In this article the initial discussion of the untenability of the distinction between “pure” and “applied" mathematics is followed by looking at alternative approaches regarding the relationship between mathematics and the “real world” - with intuitionism and Platonism representing the two oppo...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2000
|
| In: |
Koers
Year: 2000, Volume: 65, Issue: 1, Pages: 95-121 |
| Further subjects: | B
applied mathematics
B Infinity B Platonism B Intuitionism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | In this article the initial discussion of the untenability of the distinction between “pure” and “applied" mathematics is followed by looking at alternative approaches regarding the relationship between mathematics and the “real world” - with intuitionism and Platonism representing the two opposite positions. The notions of infinity as well as the totality character of spatial continuity (and its implied infinite divisibility) turned out to occupy a central position in this context. In the final section brief attention is given - against the background of some perspectives on the history of mathematics - to an alternative approach in which both the uniqueness and the mutual irreducibility of number and space are conjectured. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2304-8557 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Koers
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.4102/koers.v65i1.466 |
