Mathematisation and Demathematisation: Social, Philosophical and Educational Ramifications

In this volume scholars from diverse strands of research have contributed their perspectives on a process of mathematisation, which renders social, economical or political relationships increasingly formal. At the same time, mathematical skills lose their importance as they become replaced by diverse technological tools; a process of demathematisation takes place. The computerization of financial transactions, calculation of taxes and fees, comparison of prices as well as orientation by means of GPS, visualisation of complex data and electronic voting systems—all these mathematical technologies increasingly penetrate the lifestyle of consumers. What are the perils and promises of this development? Who is in charge, who is affected, who is excluded? A common concern of all the authors of this volume is an attempt to draw attention to issues related to the formatting power of mathematics and to its role as implicit knowledge, which results in a process of demathematisation. This process, having once received considerable attention, is now threatened to be eclipsed by the proliferation of a discussion of school mathematics, which shows a tendency of cutting off its own philosophical and political roots. Taken together, the contributions reveal a rather complex picture: They draw attention to the importance of clarifying epistemological, societal and ideological issues as a prerequisite for a discussion of curriculum.