History of mathematics and history of science

This essay argues that the diversity of the history of mathematics community in the United Kingdom has influenced the development of the subject and is a significant factor behind the different concerns often evident in work on the history of mathematics when compared with that of historians of science. The heterogeneous nature of the community, which includes many who are not specialist historians, and the limited opportunities for academic careers open to practitioners have had a profound effect on the discipline, leading to a focus on elite mathematics and great mathematicians. More recently, reflecting earlier developments in the history of science, an increased interest in the context and culture of the practice of mathematics has become evident

Why have philosophers?

David Stove reviews Selwyn Grave's History of Philosophy in Australia, and praises philosophers for thinking harder about the bases of science, mathematics and medicine than the practitioners in the field. The review is reprinted as an appendix to James Franklin's Corrupting the Youth: A History of Philosophy in Australia

Historia de la matemática y dimensión cultural de las matemáticas

Beyond the recognized instrumental nature of mathematics, as a language and a tool in the service of science and technology, the History of Mathematics reveals its cultural dimension and its remarkable impact on the History of thought. That’s why it is an instrument to dignify and culturally enrich the teaching of Mathematics and promote their interdisciplinary integration into the harmonic overall of the scientific, artistic and humanistic knowledge that constitutes Culture. In a very synthetic way, it searches in the links that Mathematics has established throughout history with the various disciplines, particularly those that in academic sense are called humanistic. Thus we can see that in every era, many of the ideas developed by Mathematics arise from the interaction with its cultural environment and they revert to it as a language as well as a tool of interpretation of that whole world

An Educational Significance of the Sundial and Examples of Teaching in Mathematical Modelling

I considered the educational significance of the Sundial in mathematics education from several points of view; the improvement of geometry education, the development of mathematical modelling, the cultural history of mathematics and the interrelationship of mathematics and science

Unknowable Truths: The Incompleteness Theorems and the Rise of Modernism

This thesis evaluates the function of the current history of mathematics methodologies and explores ways in which historiographical methodologies could be successfully implemented in the field. Traditional approaches to the history of mathematics often lack either an accurate portrayal of the social and cultural influences of the time, or they lack an effective usage of mathematics discussed. This paper applies a holistic methodology in a case study of Kurt Gödel’s influential work in logic during the Interwar period and the parallel rise of intellectual modernism. In doing so, the proofs for Gödel’s Completeness and Incompleteness theorems will be discussed as well as Gödel’s philosophical interests and influences of the time. To explore the intersection of these worlds, practices are borrowed from the fields of intellectual history and history of science and technology to analyze better the effects of society and culture on the mind of mathematicians like Gödel and their work

Invisible Hand in the Process of Making Economics or on the Method and Scope of Economics

As a social science, economics cannot be reduced to simply an a priori science or an ideology. In addition economics cannot be solely an empirical or a historical science. Economics is a research field which studies only one dimension of human behavior, with the four fields of mathematics, econometrics, ethics and history intersecting one another. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the two parts of the proposition above, in connection with the controversies surrounding the method and the scope of economics: economics as an applied mathematics and economics as a predictive/empirical science.Invisible hand, Scope and method in economics, Economics as an applied mathematics, Economics as an empirical science, Economics as ideology.

Jesuits and the Natural Sciences in Modern Times, 1814–2014

From 1814, linked to their educational work, Jesuits made significant contributions to the natural sciences, especially in the fields of astronomy, meteorology, seismology, terrestrial magnetism, mathematics, and biology in a worldwide network of universities, secondary schools and observatories.; Readership: All interested in the history of Jesuits and their contribution to the natural sciences, in science and religion and in general in the history of science

The Relations Between Mathematics and Philosophy

"The history of mathematics is one of the large windows through which the philosophic eye looks into past ages and traces the line of intellectual development." Thus does a prominent mathematician characterize the general relationship between the science of mathematics and the science of philosophy

Utilizing the History of Science to Enhance Student Understanding and Engagement: A Compilation of Earth Science Lesson Plans

Classroom research has shown that the history of science can be used to enhance student understanding of scientific concepts and processes, as well as the context in which science is explored. Successful methods for incorporating the history of science in to the classroom can also improve student understanding and use of scientific argumentation, as well as scientific literacy. Issues with incorporating history of science into the classroom include teachers’ lack of understanding and a dearth of available materials. The following project includes a review of relevant literature and Earth Science lessons incorporating the history of science into the topics of glaciers, weather maps, absolute dating, continental drift, and mineralogy. The lessons were designed to illustrate a sample of evidence based methods to incorporating the history of science, including the Monk and Osborne conceptual change approach, the story-line approach, the case study approach, argumentation, dialogues, and creative writing. All of these methods have been proven to improve student understanding of the nature of science and/or science concepts. The lessons incorporate important scientific practices, such as: developing and using models, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information. As such, the lessons are an example to teachers of how to incorporate history of science into the curriculum without compartmentalizing and sacrificing time in a busy school-year schedule