Shadows of Syntax - Revitalizing Logical and Mathematical Conventionalism

This volume revitalizes logical and mathematical conventionalism. Conventionalism takes logical and mathematical truth to have their source in linguistic conventions. This was a popular view in the early 20th century, but it was never worked out in detail and is now almost universally rejected in mainstream philosophical circles. In Shadows of Syntax, Jared Warren offers the first book-length treatment and defense of a combined conventionalist theory of logic and mathematics. He argues that our conventions, in the form of syntactic rules of language use, are perfectly suited to explain the truth, necessity, and a priority of logical and mathematical claims.