Creative Intelligence · John Dewey
CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT IN ARITHMETIC AND GEOMETRY
But if we are to conceive mathematical entities as mere terminal points in a relational system, it is necessary that we should become clear as to just what is meant by relation, and what is the connection between relations and quantities. Modern thought has shown a strong tendency to insist, somewhat arbitrarily, on the "internal" or "external" character of relations. The former emphasis has been primarily associated with idealistic ontology, and has often brought with it complex dialectic questions as to the identity of an individual thing in passing from one relational situation to another. The latter insistence has meant primarily that things do not change with changing relations to other things. It has, however, often implied the independent existence, in some curiously metaphysical state, of relations that are not relating anything, and is hardly less paradoxical than the older view. In the field of physical phenomena, it seems to triumph, while the facts of social life, on the other hand, lend some countenance to the view of the "internalists." Like many such discussions, the best way around them is to forget their arguments, and turn to a fresh and independent investigation of the facts in question.
Ideas discussed in this chapter
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.