Research in History and Philosophy of Mathematics

This volume contains 8 papers that have been collected by the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM). It showcases rigorously reviewed contemporary scholarship on an interesting variety of topics in the history and philosophy of mathematics.

Some of the topics explored include:

• A critical discussion of thought experiments invoking “Laplace’s demon” in the philosophy of science.


• An examination of the Hebrew-language Sefer ha-Mispar (Book of Number) by Elijah Mizrahi, a rabbi and mathematician from Constantinople.


• An examination of the work of Cambridge tutor and textbook author John Martin Frederick Wright (1792–1842) to explain some mathematical concepts from Newton’s Principia.


• The EvenQuads project developed by the Association for Women in Mathematics, which is aimed at creating vetted biographies of women mathematicians.


• A look at the history of the CSHPM at its 50th anniversary by considering its role in the consolidation and professionalization of the history of mathematics as a discipline.

Written by leading scholars in the field, these papers are accessible not only to mathematicians and students of the history and philosophy of mathematics, but also to anyone with a general interest in mathematics.