> I think it has been said several times :
>
> The existence of a number/arithmetical proposition is the fact that its
> existence/truth does not depend on the fact that you exist/that it exists
> conscious beings capable of thinking of it.
>
> So the truth value of a proposition is independant of me.
Well, let's see: in Alice in Wonderland, Humpty Dumpty fell off a
wall. This is true, isn't it? It is certainly true independent
of our minds. Indeed, it is true in such a way that even when
all humans have died, this universe will have a contained a life-form
which produced an author who wrote a book in which Humpty Dumpty
fell off a wall. But neither Humpty Dumpty nor the fact that he
fell off a wall were ever true in this universe - only that this
story was written, and that many people read about it and could
converse about it.
So if you believe that numbers have an independent existence, then you
would definitely also have to believe that Humpty Dumpty exists.
Both are products of the mind. Either both exist, or both don't
(other than as brain patterns).
As much as I would like Humpty Dumpty to exist, I'm afraid that
it is not so.
Regards,
Günther
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Received on Fri Aug 18 2006 - 16:18:35 PDT