ABSTRACT
Math is a major source of stress for students. Feelings of inadequacy are intrinsically tied to arithmophobia. Many kids in India give up on mathematics by the time they are in 3rd or 4th grade. Statistics show that the highest percentage of candidates who do not pass, fail in mathematics. Math education theorists have been at each other’s throats for years about what constitutes ‘good evidence’ for their own beliefs. These debates occurred after World War II and included behaviourism and cognitivism. Standard cognitivist models of mathematics learning and radical constructivism have been at odds since the 1980s, mostly on epistemological issues like the claim that all knowledge is created by the learner. Raising epistemological problems in discussions about education has always been a catalyst. This article thus attempts to engage metaphysically in these nuanced philosophical debates on mathematics education.
