Central and East European
Society for Phenomenology

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Dedekind's structuralism

an interpretation and partial defense

Erich Reck(University of California Riverside)

pp. 369-419

Abstract

Various contributors to recent philosophy of mathematics havetaken Richard Dedekind to be the founder of structuralismin mathematics. In this paper I examine whether Dedekind did, in fact, hold structuralist views and, insofar as that is the case, how they relate to the main contemporary variants. In addition, I argue that his writings contain philosophical insights that are worth reexamining and reviving. The discussion focusses on Dedekind's classic essay “Was sind und was sollen die Zahlen?”, supplemented by evidence from “Stetigkeit und irrationale Zahlen”, his scientific correspondence, and his Nachlaß.

Publication details

Published in:

(2003) Synthese 137 (3).

Pages: 369-419

DOI: 10.1023/B:SYNT.0000004903.11236.91

Full citation:

Reck Erich (2003) „Dedekind's structuralism: an interpretation and partial defense“. Synthese 137 (3), 369–419.