Friday, November 13, 2009

New Book: New Waves in the Philosophy of Mathematics

If Macmillan's web page is to be believed, the anthology New Waves in Philosophy of Mathematics, edited by Bueno and Linnebo, is now out:
In this book, thirteen promising young researchers write on what they take to be the right philosophical account of mathematics and discuss where the philosophy of mathematics ought to be going. New trends are revealed, such as an increasing attention to mathematical practice, a reassessment of the canon, and inspiration from philosophical logic.
(Look inside at Amazon.) Full disclosure: I have a chapter in there about how applied mathematics can be thought of as its own area of mathematics with some implications for how we think about mathematics as a whole. The other contributions that I have read are excellent and this volume would be an ideal starting point for appreciating the new ways in which philosophy of mathematics is developing. Congratulations to the editors for a timely and well-executed job!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

New Book: Weyl, Mind and Nature: Selected Writings

Princeton University Press has recently reissued Weyl's classic Philosophy of Mathematics and Natural Science along with a collection of essays by Weyl. Brandon Fogel reviews the latter in NDPR, noting
Peter Pesic's collection is the latest, and to date most significant, salvo in the effort to bring long overdue attention to Weyl's philosophical ideas, particularly those regarding science and its integration with mathematics.
While Weyl's philosophical views come across as a bit strange, he surely marks one of the most serious attempts to integrate a phenomenological starting point with a genuine understanding of our scientific knowledge.