Use Theory: considerations about the threat posed by mathematics

Abstract

In this article I deal with the philosophy of language, that is, with the proper basis for telling whether or not something has meaning. More precisely, I will defend the thesis that the meaning of words and things is given in the context of social relations. I will try to answer the objection that mathematics preserves its meaning even if there are no social relations, for it would be as an implicit substance in nature. I will argue, by analogy, that mathematics does not have a different ontological status than other languages and that, therefore, its existence does not constitute a threat to the theory of use.