Abstract
In this article the connection between the philosophy of mathematics and
mathematics education is discussed. Special focus is on the implications of different
conceptions of the nature and importance of mathematics. The argument will be
made that the later Wittgenstein presents us with an unreservedly social
interpretation of mathematics that favours a certain direction for our research on
mathematics education. According to this interpretation, mathematics could be
considered to be constituted exclusively in complex social processes, in which case
any conception of it mirroring a pre-existing world of mathematical objects is
rejected. To contrast with the Wittgensteinian position, a Platonist position is
presented and the two philosophical positions are discussed in relation to their
significance for mathematics education.
