I.3    Questions about the nature of mathematics and its history.

Bill Anglin raised the following questions with respect to writing a book about the history of mathematics, but they are worthy of consideration by everyone who teaches the history of mathematics:

1. Should the historian of mathematics write as though mathematics were always a good thing?
2. Should a history of mathematics revolve around individuals and their private lives?
3. Should a history of mathematics be organized in terms of nations and races?
4. How should the historian tackle the scarcity of women mathematicians?
5. Should the history of mathematics be told in terms of chronological periods?
6. What is the relation between pure mathematics and calculating devices?
7. Should mathematics be portrayed as transcendent?
8. Should the historian idolize rigor?
9. Is the history of mathematics an epic or a comedy?
10. How should a history of mathematics relate to religion?

Frank Swetz has reacted to these questions and posed three more of his own:

1. How does the economic standing of a society or civilization affect its mathematical activity?
2. Do cultural factors influence mathematical achievement?
3. How should the history of mathematics relate to the history of science?

The papers referred to here are

• W. S. Anglin, "Mathematics and History," The Mathematical Intelligencer, vol. 14, no. 4, 1992, pp. 6-12.
• Frank J. Swetz, "Some not so random thoughts about the history of mathematics --- its teaching, learning, and textbooks," Primus. Resources and Issues in Undergraduate Mathematics Studies, vol. 5, no. 2, June 1995, pp. 97-107.