(May 11, 2016 at 9:10 am)LadyForCamus Wrote:(May 10, 2016 at 7:20 pm)SteveII Wrote: I believe logic, mathematics, and abstract objects (like numbers) are not physical objects and are not a result of the physical universe. I am not a Platonist and do not think that they are real things that exist necessarily. However, where did they come from? Would they exist in all possible worlds? On theism, it is not logical that these things exist separate from God's existence. So I believe they are properly based in the mind/nature of God, which would give them concrete meaning and applicability.
Related to the question why God cannot do logically impossible things, God would not be able to do things contrary to his nature. Even further, constructing a sentence that has logical impossibilities like a round square or married bachelor are just a grouping of contradictory words and not really a thing to consider. In the same way, can God count to infinity and lift that rock are not really coherent questions.
Numbers are just models; tangible constructs thought up by human minds to describe the abstract concepts of mathematics. I don't understand why theists are always so baffled by the invention of numeric symbols. It's really not that different from how we use language, but I've never heard a theist using the existence of words as evidence for god.
So, say in another identical universe, there were no minds to contemplate such things. Would that mean that the concept of 8 objects does not exist? Does that mean that E=MC^2 still does not have a mathematical relationship? Does that mean that the idea of P then Q; P therefore Q would not have meaning? Words just represent concepts.
