Simons Foundation LecturesICM 2026 Panel - IMU International Commission on the History of Mathematics Symposium
This session invites contributions that examine how mathematical knowledge has been established, communicated, and accepted across historical contexts, with particular attention to the interrelated roles of proof, demonstration, and persuasion. Rather than treating proof as a fixed or universal standard, the session foregrounds the historically contingent practices, norms, and epistemic values that have shaped what has counted as an adequate or convincing demonstration in different mathematical cultures.
Uploaded 09-09-26
Topics may include the historical evolution of standards of demonstration; the diagrammatic, procedural, and rhetorical means by which mathematical arguments have been made persuasive; and the roles of individuals, texts, instruments, and institutions in legitimizing mathematical claims. Contributions may range from ancient and medieval cultures of inquiry to early modern and modern mathematical practice and may engage with diverse epistemic traditions and contexts.
The session also welcomes work that reflects on the relationship between formal proof and other modes of mathematical reasoning, including explanation, visualization, approximation, and heuristic argument. By attending to how demonstration and persuasion have functioned within historical communities, this session aims to illuminate the dynamic interplay between mathematical rigor, communicative practice, and epistemic authority.
Session Information
David Dunning, Erica Meszaros, Jacqueline Feke, Caroline Ehrhardt, Adrian Rice
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