The connection between science and mathematics is often regarded as necessary and inseparable. Consequently, any relationship between mathematics and the humanities or the arts is frequently considered exceptional or even unnatural. However, historical, ontological, and epistemological research suggests that the identification of mathematics with the sciences cannot be justified beyond a merely practical level. If the link between mathematics and science is instrumental rather than necessary, then the relationship between mathematics and non-scientific disciplines becomes not only possible but undeniable, even when mathematics does not appear in the explicit formal structures commonly associated with it. This relationship can be demonstrated not only through philosophical argumentation, but also through empirical analysis—for example, in music, and particularly in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Such an epistemological perspective ultimately raises the question of the possibility and nature of knowledge in the arts, especially when compared with the epistemological foundations of Galilean and post-Galilean science.
Where Opposites Meet: Mathematics Between Science and Humanities
ivano zanzarella
2019-01-01
Abstract
The connection between science and mathematics is often regarded as necessary and inseparable. Consequently, any relationship between mathematics and the humanities or the arts is frequently considered exceptional or even unnatural. However, historical, ontological, and epistemological research suggests that the identification of mathematics with the sciences cannot be justified beyond a merely practical level. If the link between mathematics and science is instrumental rather than necessary, then the relationship between mathematics and non-scientific disciplines becomes not only possible but undeniable, even when mathematics does not appear in the explicit formal structures commonly associated with it. This relationship can be demonstrated not only through philosophical argumentation, but also through empirical analysis—for example, in music, and particularly in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Such an epistemological perspective ultimately raises the question of the possibility and nature of knowledge in the arts, especially when compared with the epistemological foundations of Galilean and post-Galilean science.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
