Mathematical proofs are often evaluated as individuated entities, represented by a printed text, a lecture, a diagram, or some other single presentation. I question this assumption by showing that the identity of a proof is context-dependent and frequently underdetermined by mathematical content alone. Historical cases such as Cauchy’s proof of Euler’s polyhedron formula, Lakatos’ topological reconstruction of it, Hilbert’s hotel, and Bradwardine’s argument against actual infinity, as well as contemporary cases involving diagrammatic, inductive, and set-theoretic proofs, the Arnold conjecture, and the Poincaré conjecture, show that proof identity may shift with notation, material imagination, audience, background theory, and standards of practice. Rather than proposing universal criteria of individuation, I develop a structuralist-semiotic account in which a proof is understood as a fuzzy network of textual and performative proof-presentations related by partial translations, substitutions, similarities, and differences. On this view, properties such as rigor and explanatory value are not intrinsic properties of a single presentation. They emerge from the choice of a relevant corpus and from the interpretation of relations among its members: formal translations, diagrammatic variants, algebraic or set-theoretic renderings, pedagogical reformulations, complementary arguments, and broader theoretical embeddings. Historical practices in Arabic geometry, Chinese mathematical commentaries, and Sanskrit mathematics further show that proofs need not be conceived as single arguments from premises to conclusion. Treating proofs as relational and sometimes intrinsically plural provides a framework for evaluating mathematical proof that is more faithful to mathematical practice, to the history of mathematics, and to the interpretive work increasingly foregrounded by formalization and proof assistants.
Wagner, R. (2025). This proof which is not one: the problem of individuating mathematical proofs and its impact on their evaluation. M×Φ — Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy, 3(2), online version, 34 p.
Wagner, Roy. “This proof which is not one: the problem of individuating mathematical proofs and its impact on their evaluation.” M×Φ — Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy 3, no. 2 (2025), online version, 34 p.
Wagner, Roy. “This proof which is not one: the problem of individuating mathematical proofs and its impact on their evaluation.” M×Φ — Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy, vol. 3, no. 2, 2025, online version, 34 p.
@article{Wagner2025,
title = {{This proof which is not one: the problem of individuating mathematical proofs and its impact on their evaluation}},
author = {Roy Wagner},
journal = {M×Φ — Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy},
volume = {3},
number = {2},
year = {2025},
language = {en},
keywords = {mathematical proof, proof individuation, proof-presentations, structuralist semiotics, proof networks, partial translation, rigor, mathematical explanation, mathematical practice, diagrammatic proof, formalization, proof assistants, Cantor’s diagonal argument, Lakatos, Cauchy, Hilbert’s hotel, Bradwardine, Arabic geometry, Liu Hui, Kriyākramakarī},
url = {https://www.mxphi.com/all-issues/volume-iii-number-2-2025/proof-not-one-individuation/},
note = {Online version, 34 p. — License: CC BY-ND 4.0},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Roy Wagner
TI - This proof which is not one: the problem of individuating mathematical proofs and its impact on their evaluation
JO - M×Φ — Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy
JF - M×Φ — Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy
VL - 3
IS - 2
PY - 2025
LA - en
KW - mathematical proof
KW - proof individuation
KW - proof-presentations
KW - structuralist semiotics
KW - proof networks
KW - partial translation
KW - rigor
KW - mathematical explanation
KW - mathematical practice
KW - diagrammatic proof
KW - formalization
KW - proof assistants
KW - Cantor’s diagonal argument
KW - Lakatos
KW - Cauchy
KW - Hilbert’s hotel
KW - Bradwardine
KW - Arabic geometry
KW - Liu Hui
KW - Kriyākramakarī
UR - https://www.mxphi.com/all-issues/volume-iii-number-2-2025/proof-not-one-individuation/
N1 - Online version, 34 p. — License: CC BY-ND 4.0
ER -