On the Epistemological Relevance of Social Power and Justice in Mathematics

Bibliographic Data

ID21655367
AuthorsEugenie Hunsicker (0000-0002-2971-108X, Loughborough University), Colin Jakob Rittberg (0000-0002-9470-6981, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume32
IssueS3
Pages1147-1168
Publication date2022-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAxiomathes (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1122-1151 • E-ISSN: 1572-8390
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10516-022-09629-z
OpenAlexW4285588260
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited46

In this paper we argue that questions about which mathematical ideas mathematicians are exposed to and choose to pay attention to are epistemologically relevant and entangled with power dynamics and social justice concerns. There is a considerable body of literature that discusses the dissemination and uptake of ideas as social justice issues. We argue that these insights are also relevant for the epistemology of mathematics. We make this visible by a journalistic exploration of relevant cases and embed our insights into the larger question how mathematical ideas are taken up in mathematical practices. We argue that epistemologies of mathematics ought to account for questions of exposure to and choice of attention to mathematical ideas, and remark on the political relevance of such epistemologies

Economic Justice · Epistemology · Mathematical practice · Ontology · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Pragmatism in Philosophy and Education

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