Philosophy and “the method of fictions”: Maimon's proposal and its critics

Salomon Maimon argued forcefully for the indispensability of what he called “the method of fictions” in mathematics and physics, but also in philosophy. This last claim provoked critical responses from G. E. Brastberger, G. E. Schultze, and K. L. Reinhold. This paper offers a brief exposition of Mai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of philosophy 2018-06, Vol.26 (2), p.702-716
Main Author: Breazeale, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Discourse analysis
Employment
Maimon, Salomon (1753-1800)
Mathematics
Philosophy
Physics
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Summary:Salomon Maimon argued forcefully for the indispensability of what he called “the method of fictions” in mathematics and physics, but also in philosophy. This last claim provoked critical responses from G. E. Brastberger, G. E. Schultze, and K. L. Reinhold. This paper offers a brief exposition of Maimon's “method of fictions” and an analysis of his response to critics of his claims concerning the employment of this method within philosophy.
ISSN:0966-8373
1468-0378
DOI:10.1111/ejop.12327