Confucianism - Mathematics and the Liberal Arts

Confucianism - Mathematics and the Liberal Arts

To expand search, see Religion. Laterally related topics: The Islamic World, Taoism, Jainism, and The Jewish Tradition.

The Mathematics and the Liberal Arts pages are intended to be a resource for student research projects and for teachers interested in using the history of mathematics in their courses. Many pages focus on ethnomathematics and in the connections between mathematics and other disciplines. The notes in these pages are intended as much to evoke ideas as to indicate what the books and articles are about. They are not intended as reviews. However, some items have been reviewed in Mathematical Reviews, published by The American Mathematical Society. When the mathematical review (MR) number and reviewer are known to the author of these pages, they are given as part of the bibliographic citation. Subscribing institutions can access the more recent MR reviews online through MathSciNet.


Martzloff, Jean-Claude. Pi in the Sky. Unesco Courier (Nov., 1989), 22--28.

Very brief. Includes a bit on the influence of divination, astronomy/astrology, Confucianism, and Taoism on the development of Chinese mathematics. The emphasis on the answer rather than the proof shows a Taoist influence, "on the grounds that the fallacious arguments of the sophists showed its limits". Also a bit on how mathematics and mathematicians fit into Chinese society. Appears in edited form in Swetz, Frank J., From Five Fingers to Infinity. Closely related topics: China, Divination, Astronomy, Astrology, and Taoism.

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