[FOM] constructivism and physics

[Neil Tennant]

The discussion on constructivism and physics appears to be based on the
common assumption that the constructivist's task would be to serve up as
(constructive) theorems all those theorems that physicists might have
occasion to apply when making predictions about, and giving explanations
of, empirical phenomena. 

There is a quite different view, however, that allows the constructivist
to claim adequacy of constructive mathematics for all possible
applications in scientific reasoning, and which even explains why it is
that (in light of this) it is so useful to have classical theorems
available "off the shelf" for applications in science. 

Please see

http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/tennant9/

and after clicking on the sidebar link "Articles", download (what is
currently) article #1, `Logic, Mathematics and the Natural Sciences' , in
Dale Jacquette, ed., Handbook of the Philosophy of Science. Volume 5:
Philosophy of Logic, Elsevier BV, 2006, pp. 1149-1166.

Neil Tennant