“On Mathematical Method” Alfred North Whitehead....Gateway to The Great Books Vol. 9 Mathematics

     I have expressed in other blogs I've done on Math, that if I had a teacher like Whitehead, that is one who not only gave me the mechanics of "doing math," but also, the "what is the meaning of this," it is likely that this blog would be entitled, "Confessions of a Christian Mathematician."  I was almost giddy when I read from the great Alfred North Whitehead, “But it is equally an error to confine attention to technical processes, excluding consideration of general ideas” (51). 
    Well, maybe, just maybe, there are future mathematicians being encouraged with the meaning of math and not merely the "how to" of math.  Among the many treats in this short piece, Whitehead does what few moderns do today when comparing our mathematical and scientific position with future generations.  He graciously and humbly affirms that, “There is no reason to believe that they were more stupid than we are” (62).  What a surprise. The norm when reading math and science today is the chronological snobbery that belittles and berates anyone not currently a practitioner with all the presuppositions of moderns. 
     The ultimate value of "doing math" historically is to learn along side of those who were often first rate philosophers and theologians as they were exploring the meaning of math.  Can you imagine a child, who learns the formulas and procedures, with the ideas of why and how, through the lens that affirms the good, the true, and the beautiful?