Objectivity As Platonic Existence Viewed Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Penrose (2004: 15):

The mathematical assertions that can belong to Plato’s world are precisely those that are objectively true. Indeed, I would regard mathematical objectivity as really what mathematical Platonism is all about. To say that some mathematical assertion has a Platonic existence is merely to say that it is true in an objective sense. A similar comment applies to mathematical notions — such as the concept of the number 7, for example, or the rule of multiplication of integers, or the idea that some set contains infinitely many elements — all of which have a Platonic existence because they are objective notions. To my way of thinking, Platonic existence is simply a matter of objectivity and, accordingly, should certainly not be viewed as something ‘mystical’ or ‘unscientific’, despite the fact that some people regard it that way.

Blogger Comments:

To be clear, the intersubjective assessment of a mathematical proposition as 'objectively true' (i.e. valid) does not logically entail the existence of a Platonic world beyond the material and mental domains of meaning. From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, mathematical propositions are projections of conscious processing: verbally projected locutions that realise mentally projected ideas.

On the other hand, the opposition of 'scientific' with 'mystical' betrays a common misunderstanding. Joseph Campbell:

There is no conflict between science and mysticism, but there is a conflict between the science of 2000 BC and the science of 2000 AD, and that's the mess in our religions.