Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

II. Perspectives
did th st minds of th arly
“Why
world fight so firly ovr
modrn
infinitly small? … Th fight was
th
th fa of th modrn world. Two
ovr
onfrontd ah othr ovr th
amps
On th on sid wr rangd
infinitsimal.
fors of hirarhy and ordr—Jsuits,
th
Frnh royal ourtirs, and
Hosians,
Churh Anglians. Thy livd
High
a unifid and fixd ordr in th
in
oth natural and human, and
world,
firly opposd to infinitsimals.
wr
th othr sid wr omparativ
On
suh as Galilo, Wallis,
“liralizrs”
th Nwtonians. Thy livd in
and
mor pluralisti and flxil ordr,
a
th disput ovr indivisils
During
aov, mathmatis njoyd an
dsrid
prominnt pla in puli lif.
unusually
that might wlomd, th fild of
Whil
was also sujt to xtrnal
mathmatis
prssurs and rligious influns.
politial
this is mind, onsidr th following
With
qustions.
show us what happns whn
Infinitsimals
domains of knowldg, powr and lif
th
Chaptr 2 xplors th rasons why
ovrlap.
domains hav n kpt sparat. This
ths
movs on to onfront th diffiulty
haptr
this sparation, and to onsidr laims
of
mathmatial knowldg is politial and
that
in ultur.
mddd
th arly 1980s, th fild of
Sin
has formd around
thnomathmatis
of th ida that mathmatis
xplorations
nithr ultur-fr nor valu-nutral.
is
that might aommodat a rang of
on
and divrs ntrs of powr, and
viws
infinitsimals and thir us in
hampiond
(Alxandr 2014)
mathmatis.”
lav this story aout th lash ovr
W
Havn and Earth hr.
mathmatis,
who ar intrstd may wish
Radrs
sk out Alxandr’s work to furthr
to
how th “dangrous ida” of
xplor
ntrd mathmatis and
infinitsimals
rfltion aout what it mans to
promptd
and lgitimiz knowldg. Alxandr
lok
laims aout th ffts of this lash
maks
politial and rligious authority; laims
on
should and ar ing valuatd y
that
othrhistorians.
In mathmatis, and othr AOKs, is thr
1.
trad-off twn th powr of idas
a
How dos an ovrlap in sujt
2.
twn mathmatis, politis
mattr
rligion afft th prati of
and
and th knowldg
mathmatis
of mathmatis to nompass
prsptivs
idas of small-sal Indignous soitis
th
hav n largly xludd from th
that
and history of mathmatis. For
prati
in on of th arly thnomathmatis
xampl,
survys, Maria Ashr xplors
litratur
mathmatial traditions of a wid rang
th
ulturs and offrs xplanations of Navajo
of
of spa tim, Warlpiri undrstanding of
notions
rlations, omplx pattrns in Malkula
kinship
traing and so on. W do not hav th
sand
to go ovr ths xampls in a way that
spa
thir intlltual traditions. Instad w
fits
that you will tak this as an invitation
hop
xplor th mathmatis of othr ulturs.
to
w offr idas and qustions to guid
Blow
11
For discussion
Mathematics on the public stage
and th autonomy of th fild?
produd y it?
II.3 Is mathematics universal
or culture-bound?
Rsarhrs in this fild hop to xpand
you in doing so.
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