Here's a maybe useful excerpt from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "In short, where platonism is an explicitly philosophical view, working realism is f

Here's a maybe useful excerpt from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "In short, where platonism is an explicitly philosophical view, working realism is first and foremost a view within mathematics itself about the correct methodology of this discipline. Platonism and working realism are therefore distinct views." I wonder if it's 'working realism,' as a methodological preference, that's really prevalent in mathematics. It seems like, if nothing else, the idea that some mathematical structure actually exists independently of one's thoughts on it would help to motivate a prolonged search. Maybe it's often transformed into a more full blown Platonism as a way of reconciling its methodological efficacy with one's other beliefs.