Modernity and the Holocaust

The modern project embraces a belief in progress, a belief nourished by a trust in human rationality. It encompasses the conviction that after the scientific revolution, science found its proper form and has made ongoing advances ever since. The belief in progress also includes a technological optimism, seeing technology as a solid engine of progress. However, the modern project includes profound ambiguities. As part of Modernity, one sees brutal forms of colonisations, the development of slave trade, and the formulation of explicit racist worldviews. The industrial revolution established new forms of exploitation and oppression of workers and their families. Also during Modernity, several acts of genocide have taken place. The Holocaust is just one gruesome example. Mathematics is an integral part of all features of Modernity, and the ambiguities inscribed in Modernity might be inscribed in mathematics as well. A critical philosophy of mathematics must bring to the forefront the diversity of roles, including the horrific ones, that might be played by mathematics.