A conventionalist account of distinctively mathematical explanation
Distinctively mathematical explanations (DMEs) explain natural phenomena primarily by appeal to mathematical facts. One important question is whether there can be an ontic account of DME. An ontic account of DME would treat the explananda and explanantia of DMEs as ontic items (ontic objects, proper...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Copernicus Center Press
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Zagadnienia Filozoficzne w Nauce |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://zfn.edu.pl/index.php/zfn/article/view/648 |
| _version_ | 1797248004208459776 |
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| author | Mark Povich |
| author_facet | Mark Povich |
| author_sort | Mark Povich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Distinctively mathematical explanations (DMEs) explain natural phenomena primarily by appeal to mathematical facts. One important question is whether there can be an ontic account of DME. An ontic account of DME would treat the explananda and explanantia of DMEs as ontic items (ontic objects, properties, structures, etc.) and the explanatory relation between them as an ontic relation (e.g., Pincock, 2015; Povich, 2021). Here I present a conventionalist account of DME, defend it against objections, and argue that it should be considered ontic. Notably, if indeed it is ontic, the conventionalist account seems to avoid a convincing objection to other ontic accounts (Kuorikoski, 2021). |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:07:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4f71c22e0f8d4738a167b9cd6bca16da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0867-8286 2451-0602 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:07:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Center Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Zagadnienia Filozoficzne w Nauce |
| spelling | doaj.art-4f71c22e0f8d4738a167b9cd6bca16da2024-03-24T01:12:42ZdeuCopernicus Center PressZagadnienia Filozoficzne w Nauce0867-82862451-06022023-12-017417122310.59203/zfn.74.648596A conventionalist account of distinctively mathematical explanationMark Povich0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8124-4311University of RochesterDistinctively mathematical explanations (DMEs) explain natural phenomena primarily by appeal to mathematical facts. One important question is whether there can be an ontic account of DME. An ontic account of DME would treat the explananda and explanantia of DMEs as ontic items (ontic objects, properties, structures, etc.) and the explanatory relation between them as an ontic relation (e.g., Pincock, 2015; Povich, 2021). Here I present a conventionalist account of DME, defend it against objections, and argue that it should be considered ontic. Notably, if indeed it is ontic, the conventionalist account seems to avoid a convincing objection to other ontic accounts (Kuorikoski, 2021).https://zfn.edu.pl/index.php/zfn/article/view/648scientific explanationphilosophy of sciencephilosophy of mathematicsmathematical explanationontic conceptionconventionalism |
| spellingShingle | Mark Povich A conventionalist account of distinctively mathematical explanation Zagadnienia Filozoficzne w Nauce scientific explanation philosophy of science philosophy of mathematics mathematical explanation ontic conception conventionalism |
| title | A conventionalist account of distinctively mathematical explanation |
| title_full | A conventionalist account of distinctively mathematical explanation |
| title_fullStr | A conventionalist account of distinctively mathematical explanation |
| title_full_unstemmed | A conventionalist account of distinctively mathematical explanation |
| title_short | A conventionalist account of distinctively mathematical explanation |
| title_sort | conventionalist account of distinctively mathematical explanation |
| topic | scientific explanation philosophy of science philosophy of mathematics mathematical explanation ontic conception conventionalism |
| url | https://zfn.edu.pl/index.php/zfn/article/view/648 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT markpovich aconventionalistaccountofdistinctivelymathematicalexplanation AT markpovich conventionalistaccountofdistinctivelymathematicalexplanation |