We have here a major benefit of platonism. If one of the goals of the philosophy of mathematics is to provide understanding of mathematics and mathematical practice, it is a significant advantage that platonists are able to take the products of that practice—such as mathematical theories—literally and do not need to rewrite or reformulate them. After all, the platonist is then in a position to examine mathematical theories as they are actually formulated in mathematical practice, rather than discuss a parallel discourse offered by various reconstructions of mathematics given by those who avoid the commitment to mathematical objects (such as the nominalists).