On 23 April 2015 at 16:31, meekerdb <[email protected]> wrote: > On 4/22/2015 9:25 PM, LizR wrote: > > On 23 April 2015 at 16:16, meekerdb <[email protected]> wrote: > >> On 4/22/2015 7:38 PM, PGC wrote: >> >> "Both the records and the mathematical objects are human constructions >> which are brought into existence by exercises of human will; neither has >> any transcendental existence. Both are static, not in the sense of existing >> outside of time, but in the weak sense that, once they come to exist, they >> don’t change” (pp. 445-446) >> >> The question they need to answer is *why* these things don't change. > Humans can change other things they make up - as already mentioned, the > rules of chess are one example. > > They can change things. Robinson arithmetic is a change of Peano's. But > we give it a different name instead of saying we've changed arithmetic. > It's just as if we'd kept the old version of chess around and given a > different name to the new version. It's a nominal distinction whether it's > changed or it's a new thing. > > As far as I know, we keep the old version. Surely the new one is an addition? Or are you saying these changes could be made any which way, that there is no kicking back? That 2+2 can equal 5, as O'Brien claimed? That seems kind of unlikely, to be honest.
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