What is Mathematics, Really?

What is Mathematics, Really?

Reuben Hersh
Role: Author

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. In this volume 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.