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Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the last polymath, is a natural inspiration for the Novembertagung – he stands
for the
combination of philosophy,
history and mathematics like no one else. He had a great number of followers spreading his theories and he
was truly a European, whose presence was appreciated from Paris over Berlin to St. Petersburg.
Today, in the absence of contemporary polymaths, we expect our theme Mathematical practice and
development throughout history , to render a fruitful
combination of the multiple, highly specialized approaches that emerged in the history, philosophy and also the didactics of
mathematics during the 20th century.
The theme provides the opportunity of interaction between historians, philosophers, and researchers in
the didactics of mathematics. It allows for a variety of conceptions of mathematics, and for a combination
of different research methods used in history, philosophy and didactics.
History, philosophy and didactics of mathematics are strongly interrelated.
Key questions like How
did mathematical concepts develop? , How did the notion of formal proof emerge? or How did the
habits of mathematical practice change over time? , and questions concerning the interrelation between the
development of mathematics and the development of e.g. the natural sciences, are questions genuinely linked to
historical investigation, but also central for the philosophy and didactics of mathematics.
Mathematics education, on the one hand, investigates the way mathematical knowledge is imparted, and mathematical
skills are developed, which is of great interest for the epistemology of mathematics. On the other hand, the
outcome is itself always influenced by the current philosophical attitudes of the mathematical community towards
their one subject.
In mathematics education, the focus is on mathematical development in general, and also on mathematical
practice. This is of special interest for contemporary philosophers of mathematics concentrating on the
analysis of actual mathematical practice.
E.W. & I.W.
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