< Back to previous page

Publication

Revolutions in Mathematics. More than Thirty Years after Crowe’s (1975) "Ten Laws". A New Interpretation.

Book Contribution - Chapter

Abstract
In this paper we want to deal with the question of whether or not the discussion about the application of the ideas of Thomas Kuhn's 'The Structure of Scientific Revolutions' to the growth of mathematics (Kuhn 1962, 1969) is a fruitful undertaking. A central topic in this discussion is whether revolutions occur in mathematics or not. Paradigm examples of contributions in this discussion are Crowe (1975), Dauben (1984, 1992) and Dunmore (1992). Whatever one's position in the debate, one must note that any judgment on Crowe's tenth 'law': 'Revolutions never occur in mathematics', critically depends on the meaning of the concepts of revolution and of mathematics. In this paper, we do not seek to resolve this all too complex problem. Rather we seek to use the work of Crowe as a frame of reference to study mathematical practices with a particular though not exclusive emphasis on mathematical proofs. Thus a link is produced with Imre Lakatos (1976).
Book: Philosophy of Mathematics: Sociological Aspects and Mathematical Practice.Texts in Philosophy
Series: Philosophy of Mathematics: Sociological Aspects and Mathematical Practice.Texts in Philosophy
Pages: 107-120
Number of pages: 14
ISBN:978-1-904987-95-6
Publication year:2010
Keywords:Mathematics, Revolutions in Mathematics, Crowe
  • ORCID: /0000-0001-8270-800X/work/74396365
  • ORCID: /0000-0002-5405-4229/work/74306478
  • VABB Id: c:vabb:303275