Fiction, possibility and impossibility : three kinds of mathematical fictions in Leibniz’s work
This paper is concerned with the status of mathematical fictions in Leibniz’s work and especially with infinitary quantities as fictions. Thus, it is maintained that mathematical fictions constitute a kind of symbolic notion that implies various degrees of impossibility. With this framework, differe...
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Formato: | Artículo |
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Springer
2021
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Acceso en línea: | https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/12339 |
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I33-R139123456789-12339 |
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Universidad Católica Argentina |
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I-33 |
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R-139 |
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Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) |
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Inglés |
topic |
FILOSOFIA DE LAS MATEMATICAS FILOSOFIA MODERNA Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, 1646-1716 MATEMATICAS FICCION |
spellingShingle |
FILOSOFIA DE LAS MATEMATICAS FILOSOFIA MODERNA Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, 1646-1716 MATEMATICAS FICCION Esquisabel, Oscar M. Raffo Quintana, Federico Fiction, possibility and impossibility : three kinds of mathematical fictions in Leibniz’s work |
topic_facet |
FILOSOFIA DE LAS MATEMATICAS FILOSOFIA MODERNA Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, 1646-1716 MATEMATICAS FICCION |
description |
This paper is concerned with the status of mathematical fictions in Leibniz’s work and especially with infinitary quantities as fictions. Thus, it is maintained that mathematical fictions constitute a kind of symbolic notion that implies various degrees of impossibility. With this framework, different kinds of notions of possibility and impossibility are proposed, reviewing the usual interpretation of both modal concepts, which appeals to the consistency property. Thus, three concepts of the possibility/impossibility pair are distinguished; they give rise, in turn, to three concepts of mathematical fictions. Moreover, such a distinction is the base for the claim that infinitesimal quantities, as mathematical fictions, do not imply an absolute impossibility, resulting from self-contradiction, but a relative impossibility, founded on irrepresentability and on the fact that it does not conform to architectonic principles. In conclusion, this “soft” impossibility of infinitesimals yields them, in Leibniz view, a presumptive or “conjectural” status. |
format |
Artículo |
author |
Esquisabel, Oscar M. Raffo Quintana, Federico |
author_facet |
Esquisabel, Oscar M. Raffo Quintana, Federico |
author_sort |
Esquisabel, Oscar M. |
title |
Fiction, possibility and impossibility : three kinds of mathematical fictions in Leibniz’s work |
title_short |
Fiction, possibility and impossibility : three kinds of mathematical fictions in Leibniz’s work |
title_full |
Fiction, possibility and impossibility : three kinds of mathematical fictions in Leibniz’s work |
title_fullStr |
Fiction, possibility and impossibility : three kinds of mathematical fictions in Leibniz’s work |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fiction, possibility and impossibility : three kinds of mathematical fictions in Leibniz’s work |
title_sort |
fiction, possibility and impossibility : three kinds of mathematical fictions in leibniz’s work |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/12339 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT esquisabeloscarm fictionpossibilityandimpossibilitythreekindsofmathematicalfictionsinleibnizswork AT raffoquintanafederico fictionpossibilityandimpossibilitythreekindsofmathematicalfictionsinleibnizswork |
bdutipo_str |
Repositorios |
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