Download or read book Defending the Axioms written by Penelope Maddy and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-01-27 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mathematics depends on proofs, and proofs must begin somewhere, from some fundamental assumptions. The axioms of set theory have long played this role, so the question of how they are properly judged is of central importance. Maddy discusses the appropriate methods for such evaluations and the philosophical backdrop that makes them appropriate.