From: clyder@GN.APC.ORG
Date: Tue Apr 25 2006 - 06:48:25 EDT
A key point raised in this is whether there is a distinction between mathematics and physics and whether mathematical laws are distinct from the type of laws that exist in physics. Engels may have retrospective justification in those mathematicians like Chaitin and Deutsch who argue that mathematics is essentially one of the experimental physical sciences, since mathematics rests ultimately on the existence of material apprattuses or configurations of matter able to do calculations. For various papers arguing this see his home page http://www.qubit.org/people/david/David.html It may also interest people to look at http://www-econo.economia.unitn.it/new/pubblicazioni/papers/8_03_vela.pdf which uses critiques based on material computability to critique Arrow's version of general equilibrium theory as being based on non-computable mathematics ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
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