"Mathematics is a process of enquiry and coming to know, not a finished product, for its results remain open to revision."
Paul Ernest is emeritus professor of the philosophy of mathematics education at the University of Exeter. He is best known for his work on philosophical aspects of mathematics education and his contributions to developing a social constructivist philosophy of mathematics. Ernest has letured internationally from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica to the University of Cambridge.
His work challenges the prevalent notion that mathematical knowledge is certain, absolute, and neutral, and offers instead an account of mathematics as a social construction. This has profound educational implications for social issues, including gender, race and multiculturalism; for pedagogy, including investigations and problem solving; and challenges hierarchical views of mathematics, learning and ability.
"Stimulate reflection and reaction,” - Simon Goodchild