Critical Philosophy of Mathematics

Ole Skovsmose has a special interest in critical mathematics education. His research addresses landscape of investigation, dialogue, students’ foreground, inclusive mathematics education, pedagogical imagination, mathematics in action, philosophy of mathematics education, and philosophy of mathematics. He is a professor at the Department of Education, Learning and Philosophy (now Department of Culture and Learning), Aalborg University, Denmark as well as a professor at Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Brazil. He has recently received the Freudenthal medal of ICMI for his innovative theoretical work.

• Part I. Social Complexities.- Chapter 1. Modernity and the Holocaust.- Chapter 2. Glorification of Science and Mathematics.- Chapter 3. Domination by Technology.- Chapter 4. Globalised Exploitation.- Part II. Isolation and Glorification.- Chapter 5. Mathematics as Logical Tautologies.- Chapter 6. Mathematics as Formal Structures.- Chapter 7. Mathematics as Mental Acts.- Chapter 8. Mathematics as Mathematicians’ Practice.- Part III. Indefinite Constructions.- Chapter 9. Indefinite with Respect to Concepts and Proofs.- Chapter 10. Indefinite with Respect to Topics and Applications.- Chapter 11. Indefinite with Respect to Power.- Chapter 12. Indefinite with Respect to Culture.- Part IV. Ethical Challenges.- Chapter 13. A Performative Interpretation of Mathematics.- Chapter 14. Performatives.- Chapter 15. Action and Ethics.- Chapter 16. Reflective Inquiries in the Classroom.

“Ole Skovsmose begins his journey into the critical philosophy of mathematics with the advent of modernity. … Ole Skovsmose’s critical philosophy of mathematics fills a giant hole in contemporary philosophy. It offers a philosophy of applied mathematics, something that traditional philosophers have overlooked or turned away from. … . It is now urgent and vital that philosophers, mathematicians and indeed all citizens wake up to these challenges, expressed so forcefully and analysed so convincingly in this book.” (Paul Ernest, Philosophy of Mathematics Education Journal, Issue 42, December, 2024)