A mathematical object is an
abstract concept arising in
mathematics.
In the usual language of mathematics, an ''object'' is anything that has been (or could be) formally defined, and with which one may do
deductive reasoning and
mathematical proofs. Typically, a mathematical object can be a value that can be assigned to a
variable, and therefore can be involved in formulas. Commonly encountered mathematical objects include
numbers,
sets,
functions,
expressions,
geometric shapes,
transformations of other mathematical objects, and
spaces. Mathematical objects can be very complex; for example,
theorem,
proofs, and even
theories are considered as mathematical objects in
proof theory.
List of mathematical objects by branch
*
Combinatorics
**
permutations,
derangements,
combinations
*
Set theory
**
sets,
set partitions
**
functions, and
relations
*
Geometry
**
points,
lines,
line segments,
**
polygons (
triangles,
squares,
pentagons,
hexagons, ...),
circles,
ellipses,
parabolas,
hyperbolas,
**
polyhedra (
tetrahedrons,
cubes,
octahedrons,
dodecahedrons,
icosahedrons, ),
spheres,
ellipsoids,
paraboloids,
hyperboloids,
cylinders,
cones.
*
Graph theory
**
graphs,
trees,
nodes,
edges
*
Topology
**
topological spaces and
manifolds.
*
Linear algebra
**
scalars,
vectors,
matrices,
tensors.
*
Abstract algebra
**
groups,
**
rings,
modules,
**
fields,
vector spaces,
**
group-theoretic lattices, and
order-theoretic lattices.
Categories are simultaneously homes to mathematical objects and mathematical objects in their own right. In
proof theory, proofs and
theorems are also mathematical objects.
The
ontological status of mathematical objects has been the subject of much investigation and debate by philosophers of mathematics.
[Burgess, John, and Rosen, Gideon, 1997. ''A Subject with No Object: Strategies for Nominalistic Reconstrual of Mathematics''. Oxford University Press. ]
See also
*
Abstract object
*
Mathematical structure
References
{{More footnotes|date=June 2009
* Azzouni, J., 1994. ''Metaphysical Myths, Mathematical Practice''. Cambridge University Press.
* Burgess, John, and Rosen, Gideon, 1997. ''A Subject with No Object''. Oxford Univ. Press.
*
Davis, Philip and
Reuben Hersh, 1999
981 ''The Mathematical Experience''. Mariner Books: 156–62.
*
Gold, Bonnie, and Simons, Roger A., 2011.
Proof and Other Dilemmas: Mathematics and Philosophy'. Mathematical Association of America.
* Hersh, Reuben, 1997. ''What is Mathematics, Really?'' Oxford University Press.
* Sfard, A., 2000, "Symbolizing mathematical reality into being, Or how mathematical discourse and mathematical objects create each other," in Cobb, P., ''et al.'', ''Symbolizing and communicating in mathematics classrooms: Perspectives on discourse, tools and instructional design''. Lawrence Erlbaum.
*
Stewart Shapiro, 2000. ''Thinking about mathematics: The philosophy of mathematics''. Oxford University Press.
External links
*
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
Abstract Objects—by Gideon Rosen.
*Wells, Charles,
AMOF: The Amazing Mathematical Object FactoryMathematical Object Exhibit