Permalink: http://hdl.handle.net/1866/19804
Stairway to Heaven : The abstract method and levels of abstraction in mathematics
Article [Accepted Manuscript]
Is part of
Mathematical intelligencer ; vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 41-51.Abstract(s)
In this paper, following the claims made by various mathematicians,
I try to construct a theory of levels of abstraction. I rst try to clarify
the basic components of the abstract method as it developed in the rst
quarter of the 20th century. I then submit an explication of the notion of
levels of abstraction. In the nal section, I brie
y explore some of main
philosophical consequences of the theory.