Abstract
Deflationary nominalism is a novel view in the philosophy of mathematics on which there are mathematical statements, such as ‘There are prime numbers’ that are literally true despite the nonexistence of any mathematical objects. In this paper, I outline the deflationary nominalism of Azzouni, the most prominent contemporary defender of deflationary nominalism. I then object that it is committed to some form of Meinongianism. Because I believe that any view’s commitment to Meinongianism constitutes a strong reason in favor of rejecting that view, I suggest that deflationary nominalism should be rejected. Finally, I conclude that realism about mathematical objects must be accepted if we are to understand true mathematical statements as being literally true.
Recommended Citation
Nguyen, Anthony
(2023)
"Deflationary Nominalism’s Commitment to Meinongianism,"
International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities: Vol. 8:
Iss.
2, Article 7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7710/2155-4838.1148
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/ijurca/vol8/iss2/7