Abstractionism

This Element is a comprehensive overview on the debate on abstraction principles; logico-mathematical material explained accessibly.

The aim of this Element is to provide an overview of abstractionism in the philosophy of mathematics. It distinguishes between mathematical abstractionism and philosophical abstractionism. It also discusses the most recent developments in the debate that pull abstractionism in different directions.The aim of this Element is to provide an overview of abstractionism in the philosophy of mathematics. The authors distinguish between mathematical abstractionism, which interprets mathematical theories on the basis of abstraction principles, and philosophical abstractionism, which attributes a philosophical significance to mathematical abstractionism. They then survey the main semantic, ontological, and epistemological theses that are associated with philosophical abstractionism. Finally, the authors suggest that the most recent developments in the debate pull abstractionism in different directions.