Contingent Abstract Objects

It is usual to claim that mathematical objects, which are typically thought of as abstract entities, exist necessarily and that mathematical truths are necessary. In this paper, I resist this view, arguing instead that mathematical objects are contingent and that statements about them are not necessarily true (if true at all). I provide an account of the source of the apparent necessity of mathematics, and argue that, despite its ubiquity, nothing requires the acceptance of this received view. As an alternative, I offer an alternative, non-necessitarian conception of abstract objects, which recognizes the contingency of mathematical objects.