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Diagrammatic Proofs in Mathematics: (Almost) 20 Years of Research

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Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to introduce some of the views that have been put forward in almost 20 years of research on diagrammatic proofs in the philosophy of mathematical practice. In Sect. 1, some contextual elements will be presented on the reasons why diagrammatic proofs have attracted so much philosophical attention in the past years. In Sect. 2, the “first wave” in the research on diagrammatic proofs based on the analysis of case studies will be described: this is how it started. In Sect. 3, the “second wave,” which is calling for “big pictures” and divides into two different strategies, will be discussed: this is where it is going. In Sect. 4, some conclusions will be drawn.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Joachim Frans, Bart van Kerkhove, and Bharath Sriraman for their editorial work and Silvia De Toffoli, Dirk Schlimm, and Fenner Tanswell for having commented on a previous version of this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chargée de Recherche/Research Fellow (CRCN) Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Jean Nicod, Paris, France

    Valeria Giardino

Authors
  1. Valeria Giardino
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Correspondence to Valeria Giardino .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA

    Bharath Sriraman

Section Editor information

  1. Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Bart Van Kerkhove

  2. Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Joachim Frans

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Giardino, V. (2023). Diagrammatic Proofs in Mathematics: (Almost) 20 Years of Research. In: Sriraman, B. (eds) Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19071-2_46-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19071-2_46-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-19071-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-19071-2

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