Journal of the ACMS
Issues
Cumulative Indices
Letter from the Editor
Journal of the ACMS, 2004 Inaugural Issue
Wanted: Christian Perspectives in the Philosophy of Mathematics
Arthur Holmes (1977)
Abstract: This paper raises the issue of whether in fact mathematics is not presuppositionless. It discusses three common theories of universals - realism, nominalism, and conceptualism and illustrates them with the perspectives of several thinkers. It also identifies three stakes Christians have in this matter. 1) Much recent nominalism rejects ontological questions as meaningless - Christians cannot do this. 2) Is the creation order due to universal archetypes in the mind of God or is it a sovereign choice by the creator? 3) Physicalist interpretations of things (such as locating mathematics in the structure of the human brain) seem a form of materialism that Christians necessarily reject. It suggests that Christian responses to these issues are not clear-cut.
Article in .pdf format
