One or many? Genealogies of the mathematical sciences

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay engages with some of the central arguments presented in the essay by Reviel Netz. The intention is not to disagree with his arguments but to raise an additional set of questions and salient concerns. The first section discusses the importance of an iterative praxis in the transformation of scientific or mathematical concepts within a school or tradition. In a subsequent section, this is linked with the interpretation of classical texts and the possible sources of anachronism. The essay discusses the multiplicity of genealogies of mathematics and the exact sciences in order to foreground other possible traditions and styles and their role in constituting the identity of the exact sciences. Similarly, the essay closes with a brief discussion of the consequences of recent studies on South Asian history in order to pluralize the narratives of the origins of the exact and modern sciences.