​Humans and other animals have an evolved ability to detect discrete magnitudes (numerosities) in their environment. Does this observation support evolutionary debunking arguments against mathematical realism, as has been recently argued by Clarke-Doane, or does it bolster mathematical realism, as authors such as Joyce and Sinnott-Armstrong have assumed? To find out, we need to pay closer attention to the features of evolved numerical cognition. I provide a detailed examination of the functional properties of evolved numerical cognition, and propose that they prima facie favor a realist account of numbers.
de Cruz, H
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences\Department of History, Philosophy and Religion
Year of publication: 2016Date of RADAR deposit: 2016-08-16
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/