Navigating the sea of histories of mathematics

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay argues against a history of mathematics that celebrates a unique Greek ‘outlier’ in world history, while raising the question of the new type of histories of mathematics that we should write today. Taking examples from the history of mathematical sources in Sanskrit and histories of mathematics written in South Asia, this essay deconstructs some assumptions behind narratives of Greek and European exceptionalism. In particular, it challenges the notion that ancient Greece possessed a unique democratic culture that fostered scientific debate and that only Greece possessed brash authors able to challenge common sense. The essay provides a reflection on the political histories that European exceptionalism – in particular regarding mathematics – has directly or indirectly shaped.