{"title":"Justified Epistemic Exclusions in Mathematics","authors":"C. Rittberg","doi":"10.1093/philmat/nkad008","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n Who gets to contribute to knowledge production of an epistemic community? Scholarship has focussed on unjustified forms of exclusion. Here I study justified forms of exclusion by investigating the phenomenon of so-called ‘cranks’ in mathematics. I argue that workload-management concerns justify the exclusion of these outsiders from mathematical knowledge-making practices. My discussion reveals three insights. There are reasons other than incorrect mathematical argument that justify exclusions from mathematical practices. There are instances in which mathematicians are justified in rejecting even correct mathematical arguments. Finally, the way mathematicians spot mathematical crankery does not support the pejorative connotations of the ‘crank’ terminology.","PeriodicalId":49004,"journal":{"name":"Philosophia Mathematica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Philosophia Mathematica","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/philmat/nkad008","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Who gets to contribute to knowledge production of an epistemic community? Scholarship has focussed on unjustified forms of exclusion. Here I study justified forms of exclusion by investigating the phenomenon of so-called ‘cranks’ in mathematics. I argue that workload-management concerns justify the exclusion of these outsiders from mathematical knowledge-making practices. My discussion reveals three insights. There are reasons other than incorrect mathematical argument that justify exclusions from mathematical practices. There are instances in which mathematicians are justified in rejecting even correct mathematical arguments. Finally, the way mathematicians spot mathematical crankery does not support the pejorative connotations of the ‘crank’ terminology.
期刊介绍:
Philosophia Mathematica is the only journal in the world devoted specifically to philosophy of mathematics. The journal publishes peer-reviewed new work in philosophy of mathematics, the application of mathematics, and computing. In addition to main articles, sometimes grouped on a single theme, there are shorter discussion notes, letters, and book reviews. The journal is published online-only, with three issues published per year.