A Conscious Universe

[Neo-Scholastic]

But do numbers exist independently?

Independent of what? I think you want to argue that to have the idea of "2," you need to have two real objects in front of you, i.e. that the reality must precede the number, which is just a symbol. Correct?

In order to perceive a pattern the pattern must already be present independent of any particular observer. That is what makes ideas objective. It is also what provides the link between the intellect and sensible bodies. The idea that is in the intellect is the same as the idea that is embodied by various things. In the case of numbers, the ability to enumerate is based on the idea of unity, i.e. that a thing is a thing distinct from other things because it is a unit.

I do not see why it is necessary to call either matter or ideas fundamental to the exclusion of the other. It seem to me that both can be distinctly present in a single manifestation even if they cannot exist independent of one another, e.g. every sensible body must have both a substance and a form. Reductionism seems like more of an aesthetic pursuit than reflective of our current understanding.