Diagramas e Provas

Abstract

The standard approach to proofs is the linguistic conception of proofs. Recent literature, though, legitimates heterogenic proofs, i.e., the ones that include graphic or visual elements. Such claims imply a better evaluation of the distinction between linguistic and graphic or visual representation; it also suggests an analysis of role of the dichotomy intuitive/discursive in the philosophy of mathematics and logic. Along this short paper we examine two canonical heterogeneous proofs, emphasizing their discursive components. In the equally short final section we introduce provisionally the Leibinizian concept of an ecthetic representation as a way to access the distinction between the linguistic and the graphical.

Keywords

• Heterogenic proofs
• Linguistic representation
• Graphical representation