Steps toward a philosophy for mathematicians

The starting point of the paper under review is \textit{I. Hacking}'s recent book [Why is there philosophy of mathematics at all?. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2014; Zbl 1296.00002)]. \textit{J. E. Fenstad} claims that there are many points of contact between Hacking's book and the approach that he developed in his book [Structures and algorithms. Mathematics and the nature of knowledge. Cham: Springer (2018; Zbl 1384.00035)] and that it is possible to extract from that book a reasonably complete philosophy for the working mathematician. The latter is the aim of the paper under review. The author uses Thoralf Skolem's work as the guide of his considerations. A distinction between \textit{philosophy of mathematics} and \textit{philosophy for mathematicians} is made. The conclusion of the paper is that a foundation based on a cultural understanding of mathematical objects, together with an insistence on the primacy of structures and algorithms and a ``small world approach to mathematical modeling, is what is needed for the working mathematician.

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A guide for the perplexed: what mathematicians need to know to understand philosophers of mathematics

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