Affiliation:
1. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Department of Philosophy, , 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract
Abstract
Who gets to contribute to knowledge production of an epistemic community? Scholarship has focussed on unjustified forms of exclusion. Here I study justified forms of exclusion by investigating the phenomenon of so-called ‘cranks’ in mathematics. I argue that workload-management concerns justify the exclusion of these outsiders from mathematical knowledge-making practices. My discussion reveals three insights. There are reasons other than incorrect mathematical argument that justify exclusions from mathematical practices. There are instances in which mathematicians are justified in rejecting even correct mathematical arguments. Finally, the way mathematicians spot mathematical crankery does not support the pejorative connotations of the ‘crank’ terminology.
Funder
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
Philosophy,General Mathematics