2005/04/01 by A. Baker, Alan R. H. Baker · 8 citations
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #Philosophy and History of Science #Evolution and Science Education
paper · doi:10.1093/mind/fzi223
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.