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Philosophy of Mathematics

An Introduction

David Bostock author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Published:6th Feb '09

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Philosophy of Mathematics cover

Philosophy of Mathematics: An Introduction provides a critical analysis of the major philosophical issues and viewpoints in the concepts and methods of mathematics - from antiquity to the modern era.

  • Offers beginning readers a critical appraisal of philosophical viewpoints throughout history
  • Gives a separate chapter to predicativism, which is often (but wrongly) treated as if it were a part of logicism
  • Provides readers with a non-partisan discussion until the final chapter, which gives the author's personal opinion on where the truth lies
  • Designed to be accessible to both undergraduates and graduate students, and at the same time to be of interest to professionals
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“Given this caveat, Bostock’s new book is highly recommendable as a text for undergraduate seminars in the philosophy of mathematics and also for individual study. It covers all the essentials and more. It should appeal not only to students who have already developed a preference for the general approach and style of contemporary analytic philosophy, but also to a broader audience of students and to people with a non-professional interest in philosophy and mathematics.”  (Erkenn, 2011)

"This is a concise as well as comprehensive presentation of core topics in the philosophy of mathematics, written in a clear and engaged manner, hence well readable." (Zentralblatt MATH, 2011)

"This book is an undergraduate introduction to the basic ideas on the nature of mathematics that have played a significant role in the development of philosophy from Antiquity to contemporary debates . . . throughout the book the emphasis is on the basic ideas as well as their current variations, leading up to recent debates between realists and nominalists." (Mathematical Reviews, 2011) 

ISBN: 9781405189910

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 19mm

Weight: 499g

344 pages