Knowledge, Cause, and Abstract Objects: Causal Objections to Platonism

✍ Scribed by Colin Cheyne (auth.)

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 253
• Series: The Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science 67
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

According to platonists, entities such as numbers, sets, propositions and properties are abstract objects. But abstract objects lack causal powers and a location in space and time, so how could we ever come to know of the existence of such impotent and remote objects? In Knowledge, Cause, and Abstract Objects, Colin Cheyne presents the first systematic and detailed account of this epistemological objection to the platonist doctrine that abstract objects exist and can be known. Since mathematics has such a central role in the acquisition of scientific knowledge, he concentrates on mathematical platonism. He also concentrates on our knowledge of what exists, and argues for a causal constraint on such existential knowledge. Finally, he exposes the weaknesses of recent attempts by platonists to account for our supposed platonic knowledge.
This book will be of particular interest to researchers and advanced students of epistemology and of the philosophy of mathematics and science. It will also be of interest to all philosophers with a general interest in metaphysics and ontology.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages i-xvii
Platonism and Causality....Pages 1-10
Beliefs and Facts....Pages 11-22
Beliefs and Causes....Pages 23-35
The Case for a Causal Connection....Pages 36-53
Is a Causal Connection Necessary for Knowledge?....Pages 54-79
Other Theories of Knowledge....Pages 80-93
Existence Claims and Causality....Pages 94-122
The Burden of Proof....Pages 123-130
Platonic Knowledge by Intuition....Pages 131-144
Apriorism....Pages 145-155
Indispensability and Platonic Knowledge....Pages 156-171
Problems with Prolifigate Platonism....Pages 172-193
Conclusion....Pages 194-195
Back Matter....Pages 196-240

✦ Subjects

Philosophy of Law; Epistemology; Ontology; Philosophy of Science; Metaphysics