Why Not Philosophy? Problematizing the Philosophy of Mathematics in a Time of Curriculum Reform

dc.creator	Kimberly White-Fredette
dc.date	2009-01-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-08-12T11:21:36Z
dc.date.available	2015-08-12T11:21:36Z
dc.identifier	1062-9017
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/8e83fc5c62a44365a53dfaf9e324234b
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/29055
dc.description	This article argues that, as teachers struggle to implement curriculum reform in mathematics, an explicit discussion of philosophy of mathematics is missing from the conversation. Building on the work of Ernest (1988, 1991, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2004), Lerman (1990, 1998, 1999), the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1989, 1991, 2000), Davis and Hersh (1981), Hersh (1997), Lakatos (1945/1976), Kitcher (1984), and others, the author draws parallels between social constructivism and a humanism philosophy of mathematics. While practicing mathematicians may be entrenched in a traditional, Platonic philosophy of mathematics, and mathematics education researchers have embraced the fallibilist, humanist philosophy of mathematics (Sfard, 1998), the teachers of school mathematics are caught somewhere in the middle. Mathematics teachers too often hold true to the traditional view of mathematics as an absolute truth independent of human subjectivity. At the same time, they are pushed to teach mathematics as a social construction, an activity that makes sense only through its usefulness. Given these dichotomous views of mathematics, without an explicit conversation about and exploration of the philosophy of mathematics, reform in the teaching and learning of mathematics may be certain to fail.
dc.publisher	University of Georgia
dc.relation	http://math.coe.uga.edu/TME/Issues/v19n2/v19n2_White-Fredette.pdf
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1062-9017
dc.source	Mathematics Educator, Vol 19, Iss 2, Pp 21-31 (2009)
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.subject	DOAJ:Mathematics
dc.subject	DOAJ:Mathematics and Statistics
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.subject	DOAJ:Mathematics
dc.subject	DOAJ:Mathematics and Statistics
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.title	Why Not Philosophy? Problematizing the Philosophy of Mathematics in a Time of Curriculum Reform
dc.type	article