Dedekind's structuralism

an interpretation and partial defense

Erich Reck

University of California Riverside

pp. 369-419

in: Synthese 137 (3), 2003.

Abstract

Various contributors to recent philosophy of mathematics havetaken Richard Dedekind to be the founder of structuralismin mathematics. In this paper I examine whether Dedekind did, in fact, hold structuralist views and, insofar as that is the case, how they relate to the main contemporary variants. In addition, I argue that his writings contain philosophical insights that are worth reexamining and reviving. The discussion focusses on Dedekind's classic essay “Was sind und was sollen die Zahlen?”, supplemented by evidence from “Stetigkeit und irrationale Zahlen”, his scientific correspondence, and his Nachlaß.

Cited authors

Dedekind Richard