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182128

From certainty to fallibility in mathematics?

Marco Borga

pp. 39-50

Abstract

The title of this paper was borrowed from the heading of a chapter in Davis and Hersh's celebrated book The mathematical experience.1 Here, however, we have inserted a question-mark: is it really true, as some people maintain, that mathematics has lost its certainty? For the sake of simplicity, we refer to this conception as mathematical fallibilism which is a feature of the quasi-empiricism initiated by Lakatos and popularized by Davis and Hersh, Kline, Tymoczko and many others. In this paper we would like to make a critical survey of this viewpoint which constitutes an interesting trend in philosophy of mathematics today.

Publication details

Published in:

Agazzi Evandro, Darvas György (1997) Philosophy of mathematics today. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 39-50

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-011-5690-5_2

Full citation:

Borga Marco (1997) „From certainty to fallibility in mathematics?“, In: E. Agazzi & G. Darvas (eds.), Philosophy of mathematics today, Dordrecht, Springer, 39–50.