Math is alive: the metaphor of living school disciplines and some of the educational implications
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis is concerned with an unconventional understanding of the mathematics taught in schools and the role that students’ engagement plays for mathematics as a discipline. In this thesis, I explore mathematics through the lens of metaphor theory developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. This area of scholarship is used to demonstrate that abstract concepts are conceived of metaphorically. From this perspective, the foundational metaphors of several major philosophies of mathematics are analyzed. This analysis concludes by asking if there might be another metaphor that allows for a different, more productive, understanding of school mathematics. The metaphor “Math is Alive” is offered as an alternative in the tradition of Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela’s theory of autopoietic organization. The final chapter explores school mathematics as a part of mathematics as a discipline, and how “Math is Alive” might alter how educators view the role of children in mathematics.
Source: Mspace (University of Manitoba)
Author: Stacy Stockton
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3161078041