That depends heavily on your philosophical interpretation of mathematics: Platonism vs. Formalism Someone linked the BBC video, which is great, but there’s als

That depends heavily on your philosophical interpretation of mathematics: Platonism vs. Formalism Someone linked the BBC video, which is great, but there’s also a wonderful book that discusses this and many other facets of mathematical philosophy: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-about-Mathematics-Philosophy/dp/0192893068/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546551558&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=philosophy+of+math+shapiro&dpPl=1&dpID=41a3oT4rENL&ref=plSrch https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-about-Mathematics-Philosophy... (Sorry for the link spew) I highly recommend that book to anyone remotely interested in the field.