Preface to “Ethnomathematics and Philosophy”

Abstract

We who undertake ethnomathematical studies still have a philosophical problem. I still believe that a version of mathematical relativity is one of our basic assumptions. That is, the study of ethnomathematics rests on the idea that there can be more than one form of mathematics—it is neither absolute nor Platonist. Postmodern writing is exposing more about the contingent nature of mathematics, and the historicity of mathematics is becoming more accepted. Subjectivity and objectivity are becoming blurred (Brown 2011; Radford et al. 2008). But we are still a long way from wide agreement on a philosophical position that “allows” ethnomathematical investigations.