Toward a Pragmatic/Contextual Philosophy of Mathematics: Recovering Dewey’s Psychology of Number

Abstract

The philosophy of mathematics education is unnecessarily depriving itself of a potent source of material and inspiration. While John Dewey is regarded as a towering figure in the philosophy of education, he is conspicuously absent in contemporary conversations within the philosophy of mathematics education. This state of affairs is particularly interesting in that, early in his career, Dewey co-wrote a book in the area of mathematics education. The Psychology of Number and its Applications to Methods of Teaching Arithmetic (PN) was written by Dewey and James A. McLellan and first published in 1895. PN receives little attention from Dewey scholars, philosophers of mathematics, and mathematics educators. For example, Paul Ernest’s The Philosophy of Mathematics Education is regarded as a leading work in the field. It is telling that he refers to Dewey mostly in passing. His references paint Dewey with the broad and stereotypical brush of the romantic progressive (in the most generic and inaccurate sense). This lack of regard is not uncommon.