03826nam 2200613Ia 450 991077844120332120221107232046.00-674-04398-710.4159/9780674043985(CKB)1000000000805468(StDuBDS)AH23050909(SSID)ssj0000104555(PQKBManifestationID)11131537(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000104555(PQKBWorkID)10079201(PQKB)11012083(Au-PeEL)EBL3300563(CaPaEBR)ebr10326107(OCoLC)923111629(DE-B1597)574353(DE-B1597)9780674043985(MiAaPQ)EBC3300563(OCoLC)1243310798(EXLCZ)99100000000080546819980304d1998 uy 0engur|||||||||||txtccrThe applicability of mathematics as a philosophical problem[electronic resource] /Mark SteinerCambridge, MA Harvard University Press19981 online resource (viii,215p. ) illBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-674-04097-X 0-674-00970-3 Includes bibliographical references (p. [203]-209) and index.Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. The Semantic Applicability of Mathematics: Frege's Achievements -- 2. The Descriptive Applicability of Mathematics -- 3. Mathematics, Analogies, and Discovery in Physics -- 4. Pythagorean Analogies in Physics -- 5. Formalisms and Formalist Reasoning in Quantum Mechanics -- 6. Formalist Reasoning: The Mystery of Quantization -- Appendix A. A "Nonphysical" Derivation of Quantum Mechanics -- Appendix B. Nucleon-Pion Scattering -- Appendix C. Nonrelativistic Schroedinger Equation with Spin -- References -- IndexThis text analyzes the different ways mathematics is applicable in the physical sciences, and presents a novel thesis - the success of mathematical physics appears to assign the human mind a special place in the cosmos.This text analyzes the different ways mathematics is applicable in the physical sciences, and presents a novel thesis - the success of mathematical physics appears to assign the human mind a special place in the cosmos.;Mark Steiner distinguishes among the semantic problems that arise from the use of mathematics in logical deduction; the metaphysical problems that arise from the alleged gap between mathematical objects and the physical world; the descriptive problems that arise from the use of mathematics to describe nature; and the epistemological problems that arise from the use of mathematics to discover those very descriptions.;The epistemological problems lead to the thesis about the mind. It is frequently claimed that the universe is indifferent to human goals and values, and therefore, Locke and Peirce, for example, doubted science's ability to discover the laws governing the humanly unobservable. Steiner argues that on the contrary, these laws were discovered, using manmade mathematical analogies, resulting in an anthropocentric picture of the universe as "user friendly" to human cognition - a challenge to the entrenched dogma of naturalism.Mathematical physicsMathematicsPhilosophyMathematical physics.MathematicsPhilosophy.530.15CC 3500rvkSteiner Mark1511683MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910778441203321The applicability of mathematics as a philosophical problem3745149UNINA