Introduction

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Preface Introduction

In January 2017, Dr. Francis E. Su, president of the Mathematical Association of America, gave his retiring presidential address, Mathematics for Human Flourishing
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mathyawp.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/mathematics-for-human-flourishing/

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In 2018, he gave an expanded version of this talk as a First Mondays address at Dordt College.

. In this address and the subsequent book [1], Su describes ways that the practice of mathematics can help human beings cultivate virtues which in turn enable us live the good life. He identifies several desires that encourage the cultivation of virtue, among them exploration, play, truth, justice, and beauty.

This book uses guided exploration to investigate mathematical topics that specifically meet those desires. We will explore the Rubik’s cube and other puzzles and thus play with mathematics. We’ll see how deductive reasoning can be used to argue for truth, while also exploring its limitations. Justice will be explored by application of mathematics to democracy and the networks used to exploit our fellow image-bearers. And we’ll finish the semester with projects that explore beauty in mathematics.

References References

[1]

F. E. Su, C. Jackson, Mathematics for Human Flourishing. Yale University Press, 2020.