Inštrumentálny realizmus – Kvasz Ladislav (2015)

The book dedicated to the questions of the philosophy of mathematics presents a radically new perspective on the relationship between our theories and the reality around us. It seeks to show that our relationship to reality is not direct but is fundamentally mediated by the instruments we use in our engagement with reality. Besides scientific tools, the author emphasizes the importance of symbolic instruments, such as numbers, algebraic formulas, or geometric images. Symbolic tools, like scientific instruments, reveal and stabilize various aspects of reality, thereby changing the image of reality and our place within it. Due to the key role of instruments in our relationship with reality, the author refers to his position as instrumental realism. From the standpoint of instrumental realism, he argues against the main positions in the philosophy of mathematics, such as logicism, platonism, intuitionism, and constructivism. In a certain sense, instrumental realism is related to the philosophy of late Wittgenstein, and it can be argued that it attempts to transfer insights that Wittgenstein enriched the philosophy of language with into the philosophy of science and mathematics.