Investigating Notions Of Proof

Although proof is seen by most mathematicians as lying at the heart of mathematics it is rarely explicitly taught at any point in the mathematics curriculum. This is compounded by the fact that within the mathematics and education communities there is no clear definition of or consensus on what actually constitutes proof. In this book a fallibilist approach based on the work of Imre Lakatos is adopted and proof and proving are set within the context of a form of social knowledge in order to gain insight into the proof-activities of degree level mathematics students.