In this paper I consider the objection that the Enhanced Indispensability Argument (EIA) is circular and hence fails to support mathematical platonism. The objection is that the explanandum in any mathematical explanation of a physical phenomenon is itself identified using mathematical concepts. Hence the explanandum is only genuine if the truth of some mathematical theory is already presupposed. I argue that this objection deserves to be taken seriously, that it does sometimes undermine support for EIA, but that there is no reason to think that circularity is an unavoidable feature of mathematical explanation in science.

中文翻译：

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科学中的循环性、不可或缺性和数学解释

在本文中，我考虑了这样的反对意见，即增强的不可或缺性论证 (EIA) 是循环的，因此无法支持数学柏拉图主义。反对意见是，任何对物理现象的数学解释中的解释本身都是使用数学概念来识别的。因此，只有当某些数学理论的真实性已经被预设时，解释才是真实的。我认为这个反对意见值得认真对待，它有时确实会削弱对 EIA 的支持，但没有理由认为循环性是科学中数学解释的一个不可避免的特征。