What Is Mathematics, Really?

by Reuben Hersh

Overview

Most philosophers of mathematics treat it as isolated, timeless, ahistorical, inhuman. Reuben Hersh argues the contrary, that mathematics must be understood as a human activity, a social phenomenon, part of human culture, historically evolved, and intelligible only in a social context. Hersh pulls the screen back to reveal mathematics as seen by professionals, debunking many mathematical myths, and demonstrating how the "humanist" idea of the nature of mathematics more closely resembles how mathematicians actually work. At the heart of his book is a fascinating historical account of the mainstream of philosophy—ranging from Pythagoras, Descartes, and Spinoza, to Bertrand Russell, David Hilbert, and Rudolph Carnap—followed by the mavericks who saw mathematics as a human artifact, including Aristotle, Locke, Hume, Mill, and Lakatos.
What is Mathematics, Really? reflects an insider's view of mathematical life, and will be hotly debated by anyone with an interest in mathematics or the philosophy of science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195130874
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/08/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.99(d)
Lexile:	1090L (what's this?)

About the Author

Reuben Hersh taught at several distinguished colleges and universities around the country. Now retired, he resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

"Hersh has a talent for exposition that makes me wish he had written most of the books on math Ive had to read....[His] fascinating...book should prove an enlightening and entertaining read for anyone who desires greater insight into the nature of the pursuit of fundamental knowledge."—Physics Today

From the Publisher

This book represents an outstanding resource for helping the mathematics-education community understand the roots of mathematical thought....The book is filled with fascinating mathematical problems and uses very little obscure symbolism.
— The Mathematics Teacher

Larry Feldman