

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Did Mathematics Evolve?

Numbers. Mathematics and their laws. We use them, and most of us take them for granted. But where do they come from?

Like the laws of logic, numbers are not things, they are not material. They represent material things, but the laws of math and the laws of logic transcend material things; they are concepts. Yet, they exist independently, and are not subject to time, distance and culture.

Again, where did the laws of mathematics come from?
Most people have heard of “evolutionary biology.” But the term “evolution” is often applied in a broader sense (gradual, naturalistic changes over long ages) to other fields of study. Some people study geology or astronomy from an evolutionary perspective. But has anyone ever studied “evolutionary mathematics”? What would an evolutionist mathematician study? Can the existence of numbers and mathematical laws be explained by a time-and-chance naturalistic origin?
To answer these questions, let us first consider some background material and definitions. Mathematics is the study of the relationships and properties of numbers. What, then, are numbers?
That may seem like an obvious question because numbers are so foundational to our thinking. But sometimes these foundational concepts are the most difficult to define. Perhaps this explains why various dictionaries give such a wide range of different definitions of the word “number.” One of the better definitions is “a concept of quantity that is or can be derived from a single unit, the sum of a collection of units, or zero.”
You can add to your knowledge by reading the rest of "Evolutionary Math?"

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