As a fellow Johnnie, I think focusing in on what it means for SJC to teach mathematics as a liberal art is fascinating. It’s something I think about a lot. At least two factors seem important to me. First, SJC teaches with the “mathematical spirit.” We use mathematics to acquire knowledge about space and reasoning. When mathematics is taught as a servile art, as it usually is, the goal is know-how rather than knowledge. The goal is to grasp techniques that we can do useful things with. Unified understanding is not the goal and is often unnecessary.
Second, at SJC we approach mathematics as a human institution that has developed through history. We look at how different thinkers have shaped mathematics to serve different purposes. We see mathematics as a part of human life. This stimulates humanistic reflection on what is possible in human thought. In servile mathematics, on the contrary, all of this is irrelevant to the overriding goal of being able to do things with the latest methods. We want to control the future, and understand the past is irrelevant.
(By “servile mathematics” I am mostly thinking of what a typical engineer or scientist gets taught and lower, including mathematics before college. I find math majors are more likely to keep the mathematical spirit alive.)
Data science could be taught liberally, but it would be difficult since I don’t think there’s any established tradition of teaching it liberally. I hope someone tries it.
As a fellow Johnnie, I think focusing in on what it means for SJC to teach mathematics as a liberal art is fascinating. It’s something I think about a lot. At least two factors seem important to me. First, SJC teaches with the “mathematical spirit.” We use mathematics to acquire knowledge about space and reasoning. When mathematics is taught as a servile art, as it usually is, the goal is know-how rather than knowledge. The goal is to grasp techniques that we can do useful things with. Unified understanding is not the goal and is often unnecessary.
Second, at SJC we approach mathematics as a human institution that has developed through history. We look at how different thinkers have shaped mathematics to serve different purposes. We see mathematics as a part of human life. This stimulates humanistic reflection on what is possible in human thought. In servile mathematics, on the contrary, all of this is irrelevant to the overriding goal of being able to do things with the latest methods. We want to control the future, and understand the past is irrelevant.
(By “servile mathematics” I am mostly thinking of what a typical engineer or scientist gets taught and lower, including mathematics before college. I find math majors are more likely to keep the mathematical spirit alive.)
Data science could be taught liberally, but it would be difficult since I don’t think there’s any established tradition of teaching it liberally. I hope someone tries it.