Reuben Hersh Boeken

This book tackles important questions which have engaged mathemat-icians and philosophers for thousands of years and are still being asked today. The main purpose of the book is to ask: In what sense do mathematical objects exist? How can we have knowledge of them? Why do mathematicians think mathematical entities exist for ever, independent of human action and knowledge? In clear, elegant prose and with scholarship born of first-hand experience, Reuben Hersh illuminates the mysteries behind the meaning and nature of mathematics.

Explores the foundations of mathematics, looking at the history and philosophy of the field, and includes biographical sketches of people who have made mathematics their life's work.

Discusses the impact that mathematics and computers have on our intellectual and emotional lives.

These provocative essays take a modern look at the seventeenth-century thinker's dream, examining the influences of mathematics on society, particularly in light of technological advances. They survey the conditions that elicit the application of mathematic principles; the applications' effectiveness; and how applied mathematics transform perceptions of reality. 1987 edition.