APA
In-text citation: (Stemhagen, 2007)
Reference: Stemhagen, K. (2007). Empiricism, Contigency and Evolutionary Metaphors: Getting Beyond the "Math Wars".
International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 2(2), 91-105.
https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/177
AMA
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Stemhagen K. Empiricism, Contigency and Evolutionary Metaphors: Getting Beyond the "Math Wars".
INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2007;2(2), 91-105.
https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/177
Chicago
In-text citation: (Stemhagen, 2007)
Reference: Stemhagen, Kurt. "Empiricism, Contigency and Evolutionary Metaphors: Getting Beyond the "Math Wars"".
International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2007 2 no. 2 (2007): 91-105.
https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/177
Harvard
In-text citation: (Stemhagen, 2007)
Reference: Stemhagen, K. (2007). Empiricism, Contigency and Evolutionary Metaphors: Getting Beyond the "Math Wars".
International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 2(2), pp. 91-105.
https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/177
MLA
In-text citation: (Stemhagen, 2007)
Reference: Stemhagen, Kurt "Empiricism, Contigency and Evolutionary Metaphors: Getting Beyond the "Math Wars"".
International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 2, no. 2, 2007, pp. 91-105.
https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/177
Vancouver
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Stemhagen K. Empiricism, Contigency and Evolutionary Metaphors: Getting Beyond the "Math Wars". INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2007;2(2):91-105.
https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/177
Abstract
This article provides a philosophical conceptualization of mathematics given the particular tasks of its teaching and learning. A central claim is that mathematics is a discipline that has been largely untouched by the Darwinian revolution; it is a last bastion of certainty. Consequently, mathematics educators are forced to draw on overly absolutist or constructivist accounts of the discipline. The resulting “math wars” often impede genuine reform. I suggest adopting an evolutionary metaphor to help explain the epistemology/nature of mathematics. In order to use this evolutionary metaphor to its fullest effect in overcoming the polarization of the math wars, mathematical empiricism is presented as a means of constraint on the development of mathematics. This article sketches what an evolutionary philosophy of mathematics might look like and provides a detailed descriptive account of mathematical empiricism and its potential role in this novel way of thinking about mathematical enterprises.