Abstract / Synopsis
Mathematics and aesthetics have a long history in common. In this relation however, the aesthetic dimension of mathematics largely refers to concepts such as purity, absoluteness, symmetry, and so on. In stark contrast to such a nexus of ideas, the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi values imperfections, temporality, incompleteness, earthly crudeness, and even contradiction. In this paper, I discuss the possibilities of “wabi-sabi mathematics” by showing (1) how wabi-sabi mathematics is conceivable; (2) how wabi-sabi mathematics is observable; and (3) why we should bother about wabi-sabi mathematics
DOI
10.5642/jhummath.201601.11
Recommended Citation
Jean-Francois Maheux, "Wabi-Sabi Mathematics," Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Volume 6 Issue 1 (January 2016), pages 174-195. DOI: 10.5642/jhummath.201601.11. Available at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol6/iss1/11
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Included in
Aesthetics Commons, Education Commons, Epistemology Commons, Logic and Foundations of Mathematics Commons, Other Philosophy Commons
