Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Wittgenstein’s ‘ethnological approach’ to the philosophy of mathematics, in particular his discussion of calculation as an experiment and the limits of empiricism in mathematics, is presented against three interrelated backdrops: (1) James’ critique of Spencer’s evolutionary empiricism, specifically regarding necessary truths; (2) the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits, led by Haddon and Rivers, whose <jats:italic>Reports</jats:italic> implicitly confuted Spencer; and (3) the subsequent work of Malinowski, especially his supplement to Ogden and Richards’ <jats:italic>The Meaning of Meaning</jats:italic>, a book sent to Wittgenstein upon its publication in 1923. String figures as mathematics is a main illustrative example.</jats:p>