Ethics and Mathematics: For Students by Students
Join the discussion on this new edited volume, which explores the ethical dimensions of mathematics as experienced and articulated by doctoral students in mathematics and the sciences at UiB.
Main content
To launch the new book, "Ethics and Mathematics: for Students by Students" the Centre for the Study of Science and Humanities (SVT) is hosting a seminar at Realfagbygget (link to indoor map.)
The book, which is published by World Scientific Publishing, presents a series of thoughtful and accessible essays written by students taking a mandatory course on ethics in mathematics and science at the University of Bergen.
The contributions span topics such as scientific responsibility, the ethics of mathematical modeling, decolonization of research, automation, and the moral obligations of mathematicians.
Program
Gunilla Öberg, Professor at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada and primary editor of the book, will moderate the seminar, which will start with a short introduction by Professor Emeritus Ragnar Fjelland, Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities (SVT), UiB.
Afterwards, there will be a moderated conversation among the panelists with a Q and A at the end.
The panelists:
- Guttorm Alendal, Professor, Department of Mathematics, UiB
- Henrik Kalisch, Professor, Department of Mathematics, UiB
- Jeroen P. van der Sluijs, Professor, Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities, UiB
- Amy Zhang, PhD student, VisGroup, UiB
All interested are welcome. The release may be particularly relevant to undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics and areas that rely on mathematics, such as engineering, statistics, computer science, physics, biology, health sciences, and chemistry, as well as researchers and practitioners in mathematics education.
Food will be served.
Background
At the University of Bergen, all PhD students in the Faculty of Science and Technology have to take a course in the theory and ethics of science (MNF990) which is administered by the SVT. Participants with a background in mathematics argued that they should be excused, as they felt that ethics is irrelevant to mathematics.
This led the course coordinator to create a module that dealt specifically with ethics and mathematics, drawing on some pointed papers on the topic. The final exam is an essay, and in the years that followed, some of the best essays were consistently written by students with a background in mathematics.
This book is a compilation of essays written by students who took the course in 2022 or 2023. In the essays, the students delve into various ethical issues of relevance to graduate students in general and mathematics students in particular.
The book is edited by Gunilla Öberg (University of British Columbia, Canada), Ingrid Kristine Jacobsen (University of Bergen), Anita Stene Løtvedt (University of Bergen), and Francesco Saltalamacchia (University of Bergen).
About the book
As society becomes increasingly reliant on mathematical models, algorithms, and data, the ethical implications of how mathematics is used — and misused — are gaining urgency. Yet most scientists and mathematicians receive little formal training in ethical reflection.
The book "Ethics and Mathematics: for Students by Students" responds to this gap.
The essays are framed by an expert introduction and concluding analysis and provide a rare and engaging entry point into a field where literature for students remains scarce.
The book is divided into four parts:
- Part I addresses questions of relevance to academia more broadly, such as the role of science in society, what colonialism has to do with science and structural issues that lead to discrimination against women.
- Part II discusses in what ways ethics is relevant to pure mathematics.
- Part III addresses ethical questions related to modelling.
- The final Part IV deals with ethical issues tied to the education and management of mathematics.
