New!Websites for Authors
Tertulia Logo
New!Websites for Authors
The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: What Is Mathematics, Really?, Reuben Hersh

What Is Mathematics, Really?

Reuben Hersh

Paperback
Regular price$28.99With free membership trial$14.4950% off your first book+ Free shipping
In Stock– Ships within one business day

Do you recommend this book?

Yes!

No

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.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • Publish Date: Jul 8th, 1999
  • Pages: 368
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.20in - 6.14in - 0.99in - 1.10lb
  • EAN: 9780195130874
  • Categories: • Philosophy & Social Aspects• History & Philosophy• Study & Teaching

More books to explore

Book Cover for: The Art of More: How Mathematics Created Civilization, Michael Brooks
Book Cover for: The Transcendent Brain: Spirituality in the Age of Science, Alan Lightman
Book Cover for: Is Math Real?: How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics' Deepest Truths, Eugenia Cheng
Book Cover for: Our Molecular Future: How Nanotechnology, Robotics, Genetics and Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Our World, Douglas Mulhall
Book Cover for: The Hidden Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living, Fritjof Capra
Book Cover for: Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants, James Vincent
Book Cover for: Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants, James Vincent
Book Cover for: The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values, Sam Harris
Book Cover for: The Meaning of Human Existence, Edward O. Wilson
Book Cover for: Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality, and Utopia, Michael Shermer
Book Cover for: Science & Its Limits: The Natural Sciences in Christian Perspective, Del Ratzsch
Book Cover for: The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values, Brian Christian
Book Cover for: The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything, Matthew Ball
Book Cover for: Science in a Democratic Society, Philip Kitcher
Book Cover for: Natural: How Faith in Nature's Goodness Leads to Harmful Fads, Unjust Laws, and Flawed Science, Alan Levinovitz

About the Author

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

More books by Reuben Hersh

Book Cover for: The Mathematical Experience: A National Book Award Winner, Phillip J. Davis
Book Cover for: Loving + Hating Mathematics: Challenging the Myths of Mathematical Life, Reuben Hersh
Book Cover for: The Mathematical Experience, Study Edition, Philip Davis

What people are saying

Praise for this book

"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

What people are saying

See more