Mathematics and conceptual analysis (Q928734)

The author aims at characterizing basic concepts of foundational mathematics (arithmetic, set theory, and parts of geometry) by gathering key sentences about the concepts. (Here, these intuitions are called \textit{platitudes}, and they should be \textit{a priori}.) In some cases, like the concept of \textit{set}, a finite number of platitudes will not offer a completely successful characterization. In other cases, there could even be several different acceptable solutions. (This might happen with the concept of \textit{real number}, although that may be the kind of mathematical concept that the author does not want to consider.) A more thorough study should include a specification of the language in which the platitudes are stated. The reviewer sees the concepts determined by the appropriate platitudes as abstract objects, but the author does not confront this issue explicitly and suggests that there is an underlying `fictionalism' at work. Moreover, the platitudes involved in our foundational concepts have to be assumed to be consistent. In terms of his conceptual approach, the author mentions the nice historical examples of Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries, as well as the concept of \textit{polyhedron} that enters into the proof of Euler's theorem that \(V +F=E+2\). He also discusses the crucial role of experience in concept formation, but he might over-emphasize that role. Experience may not come first, since abstract concepts may be there from the start as part of our genetic inheritance. Unfortunately, this review cannot do full justice to the breadth and depth of this interesting paper.