数学文化与人类文明
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摘要
文化是一个使用频率极高且含义极广的概念,千百年来,哲学家、社会学家、人类学家、历史学家和语言学家等一直试图从各自学科的角度来界定文化的概念,却始终没有获得一个公认的、令大家都满意的定义。目前我们所知道的为文化人类学与社会学所继承的最经典的文化定义是泰勒给出的描述性定义,即“文化或文明是一个复杂的整体,它包括知识、信仰、艺术、法律、伦理道德、风俗和作为社会成员的人通过学习而获得的任何其他能力和习惯”,而国内学者比较认同的是“人类物质和精神文明的总和”即为文化。
     文化是人类知识与社会生活经验的积累,是一个具有子文化的、随着历史进程不断传播的复合整体。而数学是人类创造的非自然的产物,凝聚了人类的知识、意识与经验,在传播、影响、融合的过程中发展,具有文化的所有特点,所以应该被看作是一种文化。20世纪60年代,西方学者率先提出了数学文化观,从新的立场为数学哲学研究提出新的观点和方法。近20年来,数学文化逐渐引起了国内学者的关注,与数学文化相关的研究也轰轰烈烈地开展起来。
     按照现代数学研究,数学文化可以表述为以数学科学为核心,以数学的思想、精神、方法、内容等所辐射的相关文化领域为有机组成部分的一个具有特定功能的动态系统,其基本要素是数学及与数学有关的各种文化现象。数学文化研究开展以来,数学的抽象、确定、继承、简洁、统一的文化属性和渗透、传播、应用、预见的功能特征被挖掘出来,数学的艺术性也深深吸引了人们的眼球。然而这只是数学功能的外显式表现,数学文化研究表明,数学的起源、发展、完善和应用的过程对于人类产生重大的影响,既包括对于人的观念、思想和思维方式的一种潜移默化的作用,也包括在人类认识和发展数学的过程中体现出的探索精神。
     逻辑思维是人类特有的精神活动,是人所以能进行逻辑思考原因,而人的逻辑思维能力的养成与数学有着密切的关系。逻辑思维的过程实际上就是演绎或推理的过程,而演绎推理得以实现的前提是人们在意识中首先形成抽象的概念,即把概念从实体中抽象出来。
     在早期的人类文明,数学的创始之初,人类就已经学会了思考数字并进行运算,而这种数的抽象概念的形成仅仅是逻辑思维的第一步,更有意义的是人们在数字之间建立起来的逻辑关系。当人们在数的概念之间建立起某种逻辑关系并确信这种逻辑关系的可靠性的时候,便开启了逻辑思维过程。在这一意义上说,逻辑思维始于数学,而逻辑能力也是通过数学培养起来的。当人们有能力在概念之间建立逻辑关系的时候,便意味着人们已经为自己构造了一个由概念组成的纯思的世界。数学为人们展现的是由诸多与实体分离的概念组成的纯思的世界,在这个世界里,任何结论都是逻辑推理的结果。与数学的逻辑本质相似,思想也是人类理性思维的产品,在思想的世界里,人们所获得的任何认识和结论同样依赖于逻辑推理。故而在东西方思想文化史上存在一个显而易见的事实:凡是数学发展水平较高的民族,其思想文化的逻辑程度也相对较高。
     在完成了自身的逻辑过程以后,探求数学真理便成了数学的基本精神,也导向了人们对于普遍必然性的关注。欧几里得说:“在几何学里,没有专为国王铺设的大道”;亚里士多德说:“关于真理的探索,在一种意义上是困难的,在另一种意义上又是容易的”,由此可见,数学家与哲学家在这一至关重要的一点上是一致的,即真理面前,每个人都有同等的机会,无论是数学真理还是道德真理,只能通过人们的思辨获得。人类基本的思维倾向便是对普遍必然性的关注,而数学的发展使思想家对必然性的探求进入新的境界。人们通过逻辑发现,客观的物质世界所以变化的原因应当通过物质世界本身解释,而不能简单地用神意来说明。西方近代思想家笛卡尔甚至试图在哲学领域通过数学演绎法建立一个具有数学般确定性和可靠性的哲学体系,“带头重建哲学基础”,将哲学重新拉回理性时代,使得人们冲破宗教迷信的藩篱成为可能。可见近代西方曾经产生过巨大影响的理性主义同样是数学精神融入思想文化领域的结果。
     以往有关数学史和文化史的研究中,人们更多注意到的是数学与自然科学之间的关系,却很少谈到数学史与思想史之间的联系。事实上,数学的发展与人类思想的发展有着密切的相关性。除了帮助人类完成逻辑进程,唤醒人类的理性精神,数学还参与到促进人类思想解放的过程当中。在人类的精神世界里,理性达不到的地方才是鬼魅神怪的领域。人们通过学习和掌握知识来摆脱宗教迷信的束缚、改善生活,源于数学的理性精神的普及过程,就是人们形成理性的生活态度,摆脱精神桎梏,把宗教迷信从人们的日常生活中驱逐出去的过程,也是人们积累知识,跳出思维定式,创造新思维新生活的过程。
     真理诞生总是伴随着曲折的,获得真理的道路也通常是坎坷的。数学史不但向我们展示了数学的发展进程,还向我们展示了人类探索真理、奋斗求真的艰辛过往。通过学习数学史,我们看到人类对真理的追求、对超越自身的向往、对智力极限的挑战。这一切都在鼓舞我们后来之人要敢于怀疑和突破,要勇于独立思考,更要在追求真理的道路上坚持不懈。
     一直以来,说到人的文化素质,人们大多以为文化素质主要是指人们在社会科学方面的知识修养,而很少提及在自然科学特别是数学方面的修养。我们认为,数学素养是人的文化素质最为重要的构成要素之一。
     数学素养是人们在学习数学的过程中养成的基本素质,这种素质在现实的生活中主要体现为逻辑思考的能力与习惯,体现为理性的生活态度,体现为对真理的热爱,还体现为良好的个人品格。就每一个社会成员而言,他们也许没有足够的能力解决那些高深的数学问题,在他们的生活和工作中,也可能不需要很强的数学计算能力,但是对于大多数人来说,只要他能够理解数学探求真理、尊重真理的客观性的基本精神,对各种问题能以“数学方式”理性思考,善于对现实世界中的现象和过程进行合理的简化和量化,他在事实上便已经获得了对于人生相当宝贵的东西。也就是说,在日常的社会生活中,良好的思维方式与生活态度、习惯,远比数学技能更为重要。在这一意义上说,数学文化教育的重要性是不言而喻的。从提高国民文化素质的目的出发,我们应该适时调整高等学校数学教学特别是非数学专业的教学目标与教学方案,从以往偏重数学技能的教学理念转向数学技能与数学素养并重,把培育学生的数学素养作为数学教学的基本目的,从而,使高等学校的数学教学真正成为提高国民文化素质的可靠途径。
     目前我国高等院校重数学技能培养而轻数学素质教育的课程结构,远不能适应提高人们数学素养乃至于国民整体文化素质的需要。在高等院校普及数学文化教育已经势在必行,但是还有很多亟待解决的问题,如课程建设上将数学文化融入数学教学,迅速培养一支能够满足数学文化教学需要的教师队伍,把教材建设迅速提上议事日程等。
     对于数学文化的研究,国内外的学者依旧在热火朝天地进行着,而数学文化教学效果的反馈还要经历一个比较长的时期。我们试图从自己对数学和文化的理解发掘数学的文化功能,希望能够抛砖引玉,对数学文化及数学教育的研究作出一点贡献。
Culture is one of the most widely used words, and has a broadmeaning. Overhundreds of years, philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, historians and linguiststry to definite culture from their own point of view but without a recognizedconclusion. At present, the classical definition of culture that can be acceptedincultural anthropology and sociology comes from Edwin Tylor. He defined it thus:'Culture or civilization...is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,morals, law, custom and anyother capabilities and habits acquired by man as amember of society. Scholars of China agree that culture is the sum of human materialcivilization and spiritual civilization.
     Culture is the accumulation of knowledge and life experience. It is a complexwhich has subculture systems and spread with history. Mathematics is an unnaturalproduct created by human. It includes human knowledge, consciousness andexperience, and develops in spread, influenced and accommodated. Mathematicsshould be called culture because it has all characteristics of culture. In1960's, Westernscholars offered the opinion of mathematics culture and advocated new opinion forresearching of philosophy of mathematics. In the past20years, mathematicians inChina raised concerns about the study of mathematics culture and researching inrelevant fields of mathematics culture is conducted.
     According to the study of modern mathematics, mathematics culture is adynamical system with special functions which takes mathematical sciences as a coreand culture field including thought, spirit, methods and content of mathematics as acomponent. The basic essences of mathematical culture are mathematics and variouscultural objects associated with mathematics. As research progressed, the cultureattributes of mathematics such as abstraction, certainty, inheritance, simplicity, unityand culture character such as penetration, transmission, applicability, foreseeability and so on are developed and the artistry of mathematics is attract the eyeballs. Thestudy of mathematical culture shows that the process of origin, development,perfection and application of mathematics influenced human not only in attitude,thought and ideology, but also in the spirit of exploration showed in the cognitiveprocess.
     Logic thinking is peculiar spiritual activity to mankind and the reason of human tothink and the ability of human logic thinking is related to mathematics tightly.Actually, the process of logic thinking is the process of deducting and reasoning, andthe premise of deducting and reasoning is that concepts would be abstracted fromentities in human consciousness firstly. As the birth of civilization and mathematics,human had already known numbers and counting. The forming of abstract concepts ofnumbers is the first step of logic thinking, and the logical relationships of numbers aremore meaningful. When people established logical relationships between concepts ofnumbers and confirmed the reliability of these logical relationships, the process oflogic thinking was began. In that sense, logic thinking began from mathematics andthe ability of logic was established from mathematics field.
     After the process of logic was completed, the basic spirit of mathematics came tosearching mathematics truth which led people focusing on universality andinevitability. Euclidean said “There is no easy way for the King in geometry”;Aristotle said “In one sense, searching of truth is difficult, but simple in a differentsense”. It follows that mathematicians and philosophers are in agreement on this issue.Everyone is equal before the truth, either mathematics truth or moral truth. The basictendency of human thought focuses on universality and inevitability. People foundthat the reasons of change of objective world should be explained by objective worlditself but not by the agency of Providence simple. Descartes, famous thinker inmodern time of western, tried to establish a system of philosophy which has certaintyand reliability as mathematics by deducting and reasoning on the field of philosophyand got philosophy back to the Age of Reason. Consequently, rationalism which hadgreat effect on Western in modern time is the reason of that mathematics spirit enters into the field of thought and culture.
     In past research on history of mathematics and culture, people paid moreattention on the relationship between mathematics and science but not on history ofmathematics and thought. In fact, the development of mathematics is well correlatedwith the development of human thought. People shake off the yoke of superstitiousreligion and improved life style by acquiring knowledge. The popularized of rationalspirit which comes from mathematics is the process of getting rational attitude of lifeand creating new life.
     Truth was always born with frustration and the way of getting truth was usuallyrough. Mathematics history shows to us not only the history of mathematics showsbut also the past that human searching hard for truth. The desire of people for truthand surpass their own, the challenge to the final extent of their intelligence all can belearned from mathematics history.
     When it comes to cultural quality, most people think that it means knowledgeand character of social sciences but seldom discuss of natural sciences especially ofmathematics. We think that mathematical quality is one of the most important inspectof cultural quality.
     Mathematical quality is basic quality which people get from the process oflearning mathematics, and it acts as ability and habit to thing logically, rationalattitude to life, love for truth and good personal characters. For every member of thesociety, maybe they could not find answers of serious mathematical problems andthey needn't have strong mathematical ability, they have got rather precious things oflife if only they believe the basic spirit of mathematics that respecting truth andobjectivity, could solve the problems rationally and be good at simplifyingcomplicated situations of the real world reasonably. It means that in daily life, goodthinking modes and attitude of life are more important than mathematical skills. Inthis sense, the importance of mathematics culture education is self-evident. Forimproving cultural quality of people, we should readjust the teaching aim andprogram of mathematics of colleges, make the teaching focuses on from ability only to both ability and quality. It will be a reliable way to improve citizen's quality bymathematics teaching of colleges.
     The current curricular structure of colleges in our country which pays moreattention to mathematical skills but ignores mathematics culture is not adapted to therequirements to improve citizen's quality, so it is imperative to popularize education ofmathematics culture. But there are still some problems should be solved in short timesuch as making mathematics culture into mathematics teaching, training a team whichcould be fit for the need of mathematics culture teaching, constructing teachingmaterials rapidly and so on.
     The study of mathematics culture is still on its way, but the feedback of themathematics culture teaching will last on a long time. We try to find out the cultureattributes of mathematics from our understanding of mathematics and culture, anddesire to make our contribution to the study of mathematics culture and mathematicseducation.
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