18 Unconventional Essays on the Nature of Mathematics

"About this book

This book collects some of the most interesting recent writings that are tackling, from various points of view, the problem of giving an accounting of the nature, purpose, and justification of real mathematical practice--mathematics as actually done by real live mathematicians. What is the nature of the objects being studied? What determines the directions and styles in which mathematics progresses (or, perhaps, degenerates)? What certifies its claim to certainty, or to a priori status, to independence of experience? Why is mathematics the same for all times and places, or is it really the same, or in what senses is it the same and in what senses different? Many of these writings were read at conferences in Europe and America under the heading of "history" or "cultural studies" as well as "philosophy." It is the editor?s hope to help foster healthy interdisciplinary mutual aid in this young and fertile area.

REUBEN HERSH is professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. He is the recipient (with Martin Davis) of the Chauvenet Prize and (with Edgar Lorch) the Ford Prize. Hersh is the author (with Philip J. Davis) of The Mathematical Experience and Descartes' Dream, which won the National Book Award in l983, and What is Mathematics, Really?