caa a22 4500 445386207 CHVBK 20180317143033.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20111201xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10714-011-1248-9 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10714-011-1248-9 Harvey Alex Visiting Scholar, New York University, New York, NY, USA aut The reasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences [Elektronische Daten] [Alex Harvey] Mathematics and its relation to the physical universe have been the topic of speculation since the days of Pythagoras. Several different views of the nature of mathematics have been considered: Realism—mathematics exists and is discovered; Logicism—all mathematics may be deduced through pure logic; Formalism—mathematics is just the manipulation of formulas and rules invented for the purpose; Intuitionism—mathematics comprises mental constructs governed by self evident rules. The debate among the several schools has major importance in understanding what Eugene Wigner called, The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences. In return, this ‘Unreasonable Effectiveness' suggests a possible resolution of the debate in favor of Realism. The crucial element is the extraordinary predictive capacity of mathematical structures descriptive of physical theories. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2011 Philosophy of science nationallicence History of science nationallicence General Relativity and Gravitation Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 43/12(2011-12-01), 3657-3664 0001-7701 43:12<3657 2011 43 10714 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10714-011-1248-9 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10714-011-1248-9 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Harvey Alex Visiting Scholar, New York University, New York, NY, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- General Relativity and Gravitation Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 43/12(2011-12-01), 3657-3664 0001-7701 43:12<3657 2011 43 10714 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer