== Mac Lane's relevance to the philosophy of mathematics ==
Mac Lane founded (withcofounded [[Samuelcategory Eilenbergtheory]]) with [[categorySamuel theoryEilenberg]], which enables a [[unifying theories in mathematics|unified treatment]] of mathematical structures and of the relations among them, at the cost of [[abstract nonsense|breaking away from their cognitive grounding]]. Nevertheless, his views—however informal—are a valuable contribution to the [[philosophy of mathematics|philosophy]] and [[anthropology]] of mathematics.<ref>On the anthropological grounding of mathematics, see White (1947) and Hersh (1997).</ref> His views anticipate, in some respects, the more detailed account of the [[cognitive science of mathematics|cognitive basis of mathematics]] given by [[George Lakoff]] and [[Rafael E. Núñez]] in their ''[[Where Mathematics Comes From]]''. Lakoff and Núñez argue that mathematics emerges via [[conceptual metaphor]]s grounded in the [[embodied philosophy|human body]], its motion through [[space]] and [[time]], and in human sense perceptions.
