Mathesis and Lifeworld: Some Remarks on Thomas Seebohm’s History as a Science and the System of the Sciences

This essay draws inspiration from Thomas Seebohm’s remarks on the origins of mathematical thinking in the lifeworld in his History as a Science and the System of Sciences. It argues that the crux of the phenomenological account of the origins of mathesmatics lies in the temporal constitution of mathematical idealities, above all with regard to phenomena associated with measurement. Such an account in turn promises to provide a sound basis for a nuanced conception of mathematical thinking that is well-suited to articulating problems germane to modern mathematics and the philosophy of mathematics.