Human nature had traditionally been the realm of novelists, philosophers, and theologicians, but has recently been studied by cognitive science, neuroscience, research on babies and on animals, anthropology, and evolutionary psychology. In this paper I will show--by surveying relevant research and by analyzing some mathematical "case studies"--how different parts of mathematical thinking can be either enabled or hindered by aspects of human nature. This novel theoretical framework can add an evolutionary and ecological level of interpretation to empirical findings of math education research, as well as illuminate some fundamental classroom issues. [For complete proceedings, see ED489538.]
