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| 18201 | General principles can be obvious in mathematics, but bold speculations in empirical science |
| Full Idea: The existence of very general principles in mathematics are universally regarded as obvious, where on an empiricist view one would expect them to be bold hypotheses, about which a prudent scientist would maintain reserve. | |||
| From: Charles Parsons (Mathematical Intuition [1980], p.152), quoted by Penelope Maddy - Naturalism in Mathematics | |||
| A reaction: This is mainly aimed at Quine's and Putnam's indispensability (to science) argument about mathematics. |