The structuralist interpretation of number theory: An appraisal

The paper is concerned with the study of the structuralist interpretation of number theory. The purpose of the study is to appraise Hellman's modal structuralist interpretation of Peano Arithmetic so as to ascertain whether such an interpretation is categorical. The method adopted for the appraisal is content analysis. It has been shown in the essay that modal structuralism is a formal system at par with Peano Arithmetic and therefore needs the same type of interpretation as the latter. Hence, the paper concludes that it will amount to the problem of circularity to assume that a system that is identical to another in elliptical spaces and structure is an adequate interpretation of that other.