Who studies mathematical practice and why?
2014-03-19 16:00 - 18:00 (Europe/London) | London, United Kingdom
For the final UCL STS seminar of this term, we are delighted to have Brendan Larvor from the University of Hertfordshireasking 'Who studies mathematical practice and why?'

Tea begins at 4pm; Talk begins at 4:30, in the Garwood Lecture Theatre at UCL.

Abstract:
The philosophy of mathematical practice has grown rapidly in the last decade and now has the beginnings of canonical literature to match its conferences and edited volumes. However, it is still better described as a movement than a field, and there are reasons to doubt whether its practitioners have seriously reckoned with the consequences and connotations of the word ‘practice’. This talk will survey the current condition of the philosophy of mathematical practice and consider the methodological and ideological challenges it faces.

About the speaker:
Brendan Larvor studied philosophy and mathematics at Balliol College before embarking on a brief career as a systems analyst. He quickly resumed his studies in philosophy, taking an MA from Queen's University Ontario before returning to Balliol to write a doctoral thesis on the philosophy of mathematics of Imre Lakatos. He taught at the Universities of Liverpool and Oxford before joining Hertfordshire in 1997. He specialises in the history and philosophy of mathematics and science. His current project is to develop a historically sensitive and properly philosophical approach to the study of mathematical practice. In recent years, he has developed a philosophical interest in pedagogy in higher education. (source: UH Website)

Contact:

Dr Phyllis Illari
Lecturer in History and Philosophy of Science
Science and Technology Studies
University College London
http://ucl.academia.edu/PhyllisIllari
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/staff/illari
