When a mathematical notion is said to exist, it seems that there is a lot of freedom in what this particularly means, a freedom which accounts I think for why some people are finitists or ultra-finitists. How would you define mathematical existence?
mathematical existence
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1This question is in danger of being too subjective and argumentative, but I'll wait to see if anyone actually decides to be subjective and argumentative. – 2011-02-24
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1I agree with Qiaochu. Moreover, it would be a better fit for philosophy.stackexchange if such a site existed. – 2011-02-25
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0"to be is to be the value of a variable" – 2011-03-26
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0I've only ever heard say people say a **notion** exists when they mean that somebody has studied said notion before, and usually named the notion as well. Maybe you meant to ask what people mean when they say a mathematical **object** exists? I think philosophically inclined people sometimes enjoy arguing about that one... – 2011-03-27