I would say that "reason" in mathematics is akin to "motivation" for a definition. In this particular case, the property a^x a^y = a^(x+y) (plus some very weak technical condition, like Lebesgue measurability) uniquely…
I would say that "reason" in mathematics is akin to "motivation" for a definition. In this particular case, the property a^x a^y = a^(x+y) (plus some very weak technical condition, like Lebesgue measurability) uniquely…