VaViM · Virtues and Vice in Mathematics
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-09-01 → 2022-11-30
- EU contribution
- €175,572
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
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Results in brief
Virtues and Vice in Mathematics
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie action “VaViM: Virtues and Vice in Mathematics” looks at (some of) the ethical dimensions of the production of mathematical knowledge. The project addresses what kind of mathematical knowledge is produced and who gets to produce it. These are societally relevant questions because mathematical knowledge permeates our human lives: it shapes our social media feeds in the form of algorithms, it features in the development of militaristic technologies, and mathematical ability functions as an indicator of intellectual excellence. Furthermore, despite narratives about the objectivity of mathematical reasoning, what counts as new, relevant, significant, and worthy content is partially determined in the social processes of mathematical research activity, such as funding decisions, peer review, or collaborative efforts, which are prone to biases and exclusionary mechanisms. The ethics of mathematics thus has to do not only with how and where mathematical knowledge is applied to the world, but also with how it is produced and who is involved in these processes. Mathematical communities are starting to pay more attention to the ethical dimensions of their research activities. They debate issues of social justice in mathematical research practices and point out that mathematics students are ill-prepared for the ethical challenges they will face when working as bankers, writers of computer codes etc. These are socially relevant questions that merit philosophical engagement, but philosophers have thus far largely ignored the ethical dimensions of mathematical knowledge-making. A primary objective of VaViM is to address this lacuna. The project provides detailed case study based arguments that reveal and discuss these ethical dimensions of the production of mathematical knowledge, and proposes concrete interventions to navigate these challenges. The project studies forms of exclusion from mathematical knowledge-making activities. Some forms of exclusion are justified, such as filtering processes that seek to ensure quality of mathematical research. Other forms of exclusion are unjustified, such as the evaluation of mathematical work based on epistemically irrelevant social identifiers (e.g. race, gender, geographic location). VaViM studies both forms of exclusion from mathematical knowledge-making.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Mathematics is a human activity, and as for all human activities ethical considerations arise. However, so far the ethics of mathematics has remained an under-explored topic both among philosophers and mathematicians. Because mathematics is a collective epistemic endeavour injustices in its social structure, such as biased refereeing practices, impact its epistemic output. These injustices have not yet received sustained critical reflection, even though they are both socially relevant, since they impact the careers and hence lives of mathematicians, and epistemologically relevant, because they shape publicly available mathematical knowledge. VaViM will study the virtues and vices that manifest in such injustices and develop an interventionist philosophy which supports concrete recommendations, such as policy advice.VaViM expands the theoretical frameworks provided by the virtue-theoretic literature to a study of cases of injustices in mathematical practices. This empirically informed philosophy will provide detailed investigations of how virtues (e.g. charity) and vices (e.g. egotism) manifest in mathematical knowledge-making. This will reveal points of connection between the ethics and epistemology of mathematical practices and open up a discursive field for philosophers and mathematicians to engage with the ethics of mathematics.As a European centre of excellence in socially relevant philosophy the VU Amsterdam is the perfect host for VaViM. The shared philosophical interest in the sciences ensures the two-way transfer of knowledge between VaViM and its host and provides ample opportunity for collaboration. The VU’s expertise with public philosophy and its research networks provide excellent means for dissemination for VaViM’s findings on the societal challenges mathematicians are facing in Europe in a changing world. Through VaViM I will enrich the European Research Area as a pioneer of a socially and epistemologically relevant philosophy of mathematics.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- STICHTING VU · AmsterdamCoordinatorNetherlands
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union