Overview
- Studies an overlooked area in the contemporary analytic philosophy of mathematics
- Reflects the recovery of an old “new” epistemology
- Is a pointer and a reminder of the gaps in the history of the development of science
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Philosophy (BRIEFSPHILOSOPH)
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This book examines how epistemology was reinvented by Ibn Sīnā, an influential philosopher-scientist of the classical Islamic world who was known to the West by the Latinised name Avicenna. It explains his theory of knowledge in which intentionality acts as an interaction between the mind and the world. This, in turn, led Ibn Sīnā to distinguish an operation of intentionality specific to the generation of numbers.
The author argues that Ibn Sīnā’s transformation of philosophy is one of the major stages in the de-hellinisation movement of the Greek heritage that was set off by the advent of the Arabic-Islamic civilisation. Readers first learn about Ibn Sīnā’s unprecedented investigation into the concept of the number and his criticism of such Greek thought as Plato’s realism, Pythagoreans’ empiricism, and Ari
stotle’s conception of existence.Next, coverage sets out the basics of Ibn Sīnā’s theory of knowledge needed for the construction of numbers. It describes how intentionality turns out to be key in showing the ontological dependence of numbers as well as even more critical to their construction.
In describing the various mental operations that make mathematical objects intentional entities, Ibn Sīnā developed powerful arguments and subtle analyses to show us the extent our mental life depends on intentionality. This monograph thoroughly explores the epistemic dimension of this concept, which, the author believes, can also explain the actual genesis and evolution of mathematics by the human mind.
Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Mathematics and the Mind
Book Subtitle: An Introduction into Ibn Sīnā’s Theory of Knowledge
Authors: Hassan Tahiri
Series Title: SpringerBriefs in Philosophy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25238-4
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: The Author(s) 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-25236-0Published: 25 November 2015
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-25238-4Published: 18 November 2015
Series ISSN: 2211-4548
Series E-ISSN: 2211-4556
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: IX, 76
Topics: Medieval Philosophy, Mathematical Logic and Foundations, Epistemology