neo-Meinongianism

philosophy

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July 16, 2026

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Neo-Meinongianism is a philosophical view that, contrary to initial appearances, mathematical sentences are literally true, even though there are no such things as mathematical objects like numbers. This perspective, derived from the work of Austrian philosopher Alexius Meinong, posits that a statement like "4 is even" can be true even if the object "4" does not exist.1

This contrasts with traditional ontology, which grapples with the fundamental question of what exists. Neo-Meinongianism is considered a form of nominalism, a view that denies the existence of abstract objects like numbers.21

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philosophy of mathematics
Nominalism
…last version of nominalism is neo-Meinongianism, which derives from Alexius Meinong, a late-19th century Austrian philosopher. Meinong endorsed a view that was supposed to be distinct from Platonism, but most philosophers now agree that it is in fact equivalent to Platonism. In particular, Meinong held that there are such things…
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…last version of nominalism is neo-Meinongianism, which derives from Alexius Meinong, a late-19th century Austrian philosopher. Meinong endorsed a view that was supposed to be distinct from Platonism, but most philosophers now agree that it is in fact equivalent to Platonism. In particular, Meinong held that there are such things…
Read More