Numerical Cognition and the Epistemology of Arithmetic

Markus Pantsar is a Visiting Professor at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany, and Docent in theoretical philosophy at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is the author of Truth, Proof, and Gödelian Arguments: A Defence of Tarskian Truth in Mathematics (2009), and many journal articles on the cognitive foundations of arithmetical knowledge.

'This book is a refreshing, genuinely interdisciplinary exploration of cognitive and epistemological issues concerning numbers. Pantsar argues for the controversial thesis that arithmetic, although rooted in our shared cognitive abilities, is a cultural product. He then explores this thesis's various repercussions, tackling in a novel way traditional philosophical problems about mathematics.' Silvia de Toffoli, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS Pavia

• Preface; Introduction: a fractured landscape; Part I. Ontogeny: 1. Proto-arithmetical; 2. Acquisition of number concepts; 3. Enculturation; Part II. Phylogeny and History: 4. The phylogeny and cultural history of number concepts; 5. The Development of arithmetic; 6. Cumulative cultural evolution; Part III. Epistemology and Ontology: 7. Conventionalism and intersubjectivity; 8. The character of arithmetical knowledge; 9. Ontological considerations; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.