Mathematical Artifacts Have Politics: The Journey from Examples to Embedded Ethics

TL;DR

This paper explores how mathematical artifacts embody political values, arguing that all such artifacts have politics and discussing implications for embedding ethics in mathematical education.

Contribution

It extends the concept that artifacts have politics into mathematics, providing examples and an argument that all mathematical artifacts possess political dimensions.

Findings

Mathematical artifacts can embody political values.

Acknowledging politics in math artifacts can improve ethical education.

Designing math exercises with political awareness enhances ethical understanding.

Abstract

We extend Langdon Winner's idea that artifacts have politics into the realm of mathematics. To do so, we first provide a list of examples showing the existence of mathematical artifacts that have politics. In the second step, we provide an argument that shows that all mathematical artifacts have politics. We conclude by showing the implications for embedding ethics into mathematical curricula. We show how acknowledging that mathematical artifacts have politics can help mathematicians design better exercises for their mathematics students.