»Mathematics as Culture

Dr. Daniele Struppa, in collaboration with Dr. Graziano Gentili (Dept. of Mathematics and Informatics, University of Florence) and Dr. Luisa Simonutti (Institute for the History of Philosophic and Scientific Thought, Milan), opens an interdisciplinary pathway at the intersection of mathematics, geometry, and various artistic and cultural fields.

The studies completed thus far explain the evolution of conceptual phenomena such as the representation of the Celestial Sphere on the plane, perspective in art, musical temperament, and double-entry bookkeeping while at the same time revealing mathematical and geometrical procedures that underline them. This inquiry illuminates how intellectual advancements underpinning various fields come into contact with socio-cultural domains (Pythagorean spirituality, Christian precepts, Islamic insight, aesthetic conceptions of space, economic revolutions, etc.).

Within this humanistic-scientific perspective rooted in the experiential crossroads of thought, science is properly placed in culture. This line of research exemplifies the Ferrucci Institute’s greater aim to shed light on spaces of germinal convergence and, in doing so, educate about the evolution of human intellect and instill and nourish a deep respect for learning.