Science and an African Logic

Helen Verran

ISBN 10: 0226853918 / ISBN 13: 9780226853918

Published by The University Of Chicago Press Dez 2001, 2001

About this Item

Neuware - Does 2 + 2 = 4 Ask almost anyone and they will unequivocally answer yes. A basic equation such as this seems the very definition of certainty, but is it In this captivating book, Helen Verran addresses precisely that question by looking at how science, mathematics, and logic come to life in Yoruba primary schools. Drawing on her experience as a teacher in Nigeria, Verran describes how she went from the radical conclusion that logic and math are culturally relative, to determining what Westerners find so disconcerting about Yoruba logic, to a new understanding of all generalizing logic. She reveals that in contrast to the one-to-many model found in Western number systems, Yoruba thinking operates by figuring things as wholes and their parts. Quantity is not absolute but always relational. Certainty is derived not from abstract logic, but from cultural practices and associations. A powerful story of how one woman's investigation in this everday situation led to extraordinary conclusions about the nature of numbers, generalization, and certainty, this book will be a signal contribution to philosophy, anthropology of science, and education.

Seller Inventory # 9780226853918

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Science and an African Logic
• Publisher: The University Of Chicago Press Dez 2001
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226853918
• ISBN 13: 9780226853918
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 229W x 154H x 19D millimeters 229 millimeters width by 154 millimeters height by 19 millimeters depth
• Weight: 398 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Does 2 + 2 = 4? Ask almost anyone and they will unequivocally answer yes. A basic equation such as this seems the very definition of certainty, but is it?

In this captivating book, Helen Verran addresses precisely that question by looking at how science, mathematics, and logic come to life in Yoruba primary schools. Drawing on her experience as a teacher in Nigeria, Verran describes how she went from the radical conclusion that logic and math are culturally relative, to determining what Westerners find so disconcerting about Yoruba logic, to a new understanding of all generalizing logic. She reveals that in contrast to the one-to-many model found in Western number systems, Yoruba thinking operates by figuring things as wholes and their parts. Quantity is not absolute but always relational. Certainty is derived not from abstract logic, but from cultural practices and associations.

A powerful story of how one woman's investigation in this everday situation led to extraordinary conclusions about the nature of numbers, generalization, and certainty, this book will be a signal contribution to philosophy, anthropology of science, and education.

About the Author

Helen Verran taught at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, between 1979 and 1986. She is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Melbourne.