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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Foundational Mathematical Beliefs And Ethics In Mathematical Practice And Education, Richard Spindler
Foundational Mathematical Beliefs And Ethics In Mathematical Practice And Education, Richard Spindler
Journal of Humanistic Mathematics
Foundational philosophical beliefs about mathematics in the mathematical community may have an unappreciated yet profound impact on ethics in mathematical practice and mathematics education, which also affects practice. A philosophical and historical basis of the dominant platonic and formalist views of mathematics are described and evaluated, after which an alternative evidence-based foundation for mathematical thought is outlined. The dualistic nature of the platonic view based on intuition is then compared to parallel historical developments of universalizing ethics in Western thought. These background ideas set the stage for a discussion of the impact of traditional mathematical beliefs on ethics in the …
Ethics And Mathematics – Some Observations Fifty Years Later, Gregor Nickel
Ethics And Mathematics – Some Observations Fifty Years Later, Gregor Nickel
Journal of Humanistic Mathematics
Almost exactly fifty years ago, Friedrich Kambartel, in his classic essay “Ethics and Mathematics,” did pioneering work in an intellectual environment that almost self-evidently assumed a strict separation of the two fields. In our first section we summarize and discuss that classical paper. The following two sections are devoted to complement and contrast Kambartel’s picture. In particular, the second section is devoted to ethical aspects of the indirect and direct mathematization of modern societies. The final section gives a short categorization of various philosophical positions with respect to the rationality of ethics and the mutual relation between ethics and mathematics.
Wittgenstein On Miscalculation And The Foundations Of Mathematics, Samuel J. Wheeler
Wittgenstein On Miscalculation And The Foundations Of Mathematics, Samuel J. Wheeler
Philosophy Faculty Publications
In Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics, Wittgenstein notes that he has 'not yet made the role of miscalculating clear' and that 'the role of the proposition: "I must have miscalculated"...is really the key to an understanding of the "foundations" of mathematics.' In this paper, I hope to get clear on how this is the case. First, I will explain Wittgenstein's understanding of a 'foundation' for mathematics. Then, by showing how the proposition 'I must have miscalculated' differentiates mathematics from the physical sciences, we will see how this proposition is the key to understanding the foundations of mathematics.