Skip Navigation

Mind 2005 114(454):223-238; doi:10.1093/mind/fzi223
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Baker, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© Baker 2005

Are there Genuine Mathematical Explanations of Physical Phenomena?

Alan Baker

Department of Philosophy, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore PA 19081, USA abaker1{at}swarthmore.edu

Many explanations in science make use of mathematics. But are there cases where the mathematical component of a scientific explanation is explanatory in its own right? This issue of mathematical explanations in science has been for the most part neglected. I argue that there are genuine mathematical explanations in science, and present in some detail an example of such an explanation, taken from evolutionary biology, involving periodical cicadas. I also indicate how the answer to my title question impacts on broader issues in the philosophy of mathematics; in particular it may help platonists respond to a recent challenge by Joseph Melia concerning the force of the Indispensability Argument.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Br J Philos SciHome page
A. Baker
Mathematical Explanation in Science
Brit J Philos Sci, September 1, 2009; 60(3): 611 - 633.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J Philos SciHome page
R. W. Batterman
On the Explanatory Role of Mathematics in Empirical Science
Brit J Philos Sci, June 17, 2009; (2009) axp018v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Philosophia MathematicaHome page
A. Lyon and M. Colyvan
The Explanatory Power of Phase Spaces
Philosophia Mathematica, June 1, 2008; 16(2): 227 - 243.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.