What is Intuitionism?
Intuitionism is a mathematical philosophy which holds that mathematics is a purely formal creation of the mind. It was originated in the early twentieth century by Dutch mathematician L.E.J. Brouwer. Intuitionism posits that mathematics is an internal, content-empty process whereby consistent mathematical statements can only be conceived of and proven as mental constructions. In this sense, intuitionism contradicts many core principles of classical mathematics, which holds that mathematics is the objective analysis of external existence. Intuitionism differs from classical philosophies of mathematics, such as formalism and Platonism, in that it does not assume the existence of an external mathematically coherent reality. Additionally, it does not assume that mathematics is a symbolic language which has to follow certain fixed rules. Thus, since symbolic figures commonly used in mathematics are considered pure mediation, they are used only to transmit mathematical ideas from the mind of
