Lexicon of Arguments

 

I 18
Explanation/Field:
a) Def intrinsic explanation/Field: does not contain causally irrelevant entities (namely: mathematical entities)
b) Def extrinsic explanation/Field: also contains causally irrelevant entities.
For example, the attribution of finite sentences for the behavior of animals.
Every good extrinsic explanation is based on a good intrinsic explanation.
((s) Field/(s): therefore only causally relevant should occur in the explanation. - in short: intrinsic explanation is causal.)
I 20
Problem: then the properties of electrons cannot contain anything that requires mathematical entities.
>Mathematical entities, >Platonism, >Ontology.
I 111
Explanation/Application/Physics/Mathematics/Field: new: different than in Sience without numbers⁽¹⁾: Physics itself has an explanatory function.
You need theories to explain physical phenomena. - This makes a nominalistic theory of proof superfluous.
Platonism: Here the proof theory is an instrument of discovery, not just explanation.
>Proof theory.
Nominalist Model Theory: Problem: one cannot explain the applicability solely from the concept of conservativity. Therefore we need modal logic as an analog of Platonist model theory.
>Modal logic, >Model theory.
Then model theory is like physics. Otherwise, it is like the theory of proof: then we would not need a nominalistic analog of the model theory because it does not serve as an explanation, but only in order to find out something about possibility.
>Nominalism.
Then, in turn, we do not need to accept the truth of the statements.
>Truth/Field.


1. H. Field, Science without numbers. Princeton New Jersey 1980