Intimations of Infinity: The Cultural Meanings of the Iqwaye Counting and Number Systems [Hardcover]

This is a remarkable work which captures the reader's imagination as only few books do. From a description of the counting system of Iqwaye people of Papua New Guinea, the author develops a deeper and broader interpretation of the Iqwaye kinship system and cosmology, culminating in a powerful critique of western assumptions about the development of rational thought.From a description of the counting system of Iqwaye people of Papua New Guinea, the author develops a deeper and broader interpretation of the Iqwaye kinship system and cosmology, culminating in a powerful critique of western assumptions about the development of rational thought.Jadran Mimica Lecturer in Anthropology,University College London1. Introduction 2. The Counting System 3. The Authentic Constitution of the Numerical Series 4. The Counting System in the Light of the Iqwaye View of the Cosmos 5. The Image of Cosmic Totality and the Primordial Senses of Infinity, 6. Iqwaye Counting, the Mathematical Infinite and the Problem of the Understanding of other Mathematical Realities 7. Number and the Existential Foundations of Anthropological Understanding of Other Cultures, Afterword: Some Comments on the Iqwaye MathematicUS? Jadran Mimica 1988