The Tangled Origins of the Leibnizian Calculus

The Tangled Origins of the Leibnizian Calculus PDF Author: Richard C. Brown
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814390801
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
This book is a detailed study of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz''s creation of calculus from 1673 to the 1680s. We examine and analyze the mathematics in several of his early manuscripts as well as various articles published in the Acta Eruditorum. It studies some of the other lesser known OC calculiOCO Leibniz created such as the Analysis Situs, delves into aspects of his logic, and gives an overview of his efforts to construct a Universal Characteristic, a goal that has its distant origin in the Ars Magna of the 13th century Catalan philosopher Raymond Llull, whose work enjoyed a renewed popularity in the century and a half prior to Leibniz. This book also touches upon a new look at the priority controversy with Newton and a Kuhnian interpretation of the nature of mathematical change. This book may be the only integrated treatment based on recent research and should be a thought-provoking contribution to the history of mathematics for scholars and students, interested in either Leibniz''s mathematical achievement or general issues in the field."

The Tangled Origins of the Leibnizian Calculus

The Tangled Origins of the Leibnizian Calculus PDF Author: Richard C. Brown
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814390801
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 333

Get Book

Book Description
This book is a detailed study of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz''s creation of calculus from 1673 to the 1680s. We examine and analyze the mathematics in several of his early manuscripts as well as various articles published in the Acta Eruditorum. It studies some of the other lesser known OC calculiOCO Leibniz created such as the Analysis Situs, delves into aspects of his logic, and gives an overview of his efforts to construct a Universal Characteristic, a goal that has its distant origin in the Ars Magna of the 13th century Catalan philosopher Raymond Llull, whose work enjoyed a renewed popularity in the century and a half prior to Leibniz. This book also touches upon a new look at the priority controversy with Newton and a Kuhnian interpretation of the nature of mathematical change. This book may be the only integrated treatment based on recent research and should be a thought-provoking contribution to the history of mathematics for scholars and students, interested in either Leibniz''s mathematical achievement or general issues in the field."

The Tangled Origins of the Leibnizian Calculus

The Tangled Origins of the Leibnizian Calculus PDF Author: Richard C. Brown
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814390798
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
1. Evolution or revolution in mathematics -- 2. Issues in seventeenth century mathematics -- 3. Isaac Barrow: a foil to Leibniz -- 4. A young central European polymath -- 5. First steps in mathematics -- 6. The creation of calculus -- 7. Logic -- 8. The universal characteristic -- 9. The baroque cultural context -- 10. Epilogue -- 11. Some concluding remarks on mathematical change -- Appendices.

The Tangled Origins of the Leibnizian Calculus

The Tangled Origins of the Leibnizian Calculus PDF Author: Richard C Brown
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814401617
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
This book is a detailed study of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's creation of calculus from 1673 to the 1680s. We examine and analyze the mathematics in several of his early manuscripts as well as various articles published in the Acta Eruditorum. It studies some of the other lesser known “calculi” Leibniz created such as the Analysis Situs, delves into aspects of his logic, and gives an overview of his efforts to construct a Universal Characteristic, a goal that has its distant origin in the Ars Magna of the 13th century Catalan philosopher Raymond Llull, whose work enjoyed a renewed popularity in the century and a half prior to Leibniz. This book also touches upon a new look at the priority controversy with Newton and a Kuhnian interpretation of the nature of mathematical change. This book may be the only integrated treatment based on recent research and should be a thought-provoking contribution to the history of mathematics for scholars and students, interested in either Leibniz's mathematical achievement or general issues in the field. Contents:Evolution or Revolution in MathematicsIssues in Seventeenth Century MathematicsIsaac Barrow: A Foil to LeibnizA Young Central European PolymathFirst Steps in MathematicsThe Creation of CalculusLogicThe Universal CharacteristicThe Baroque Cultural ContextEpilogueSome Concluding Remarks on Mathematical ChangeAppendices:A: A Transmutation Theorem of LeibnizB: Leibniz's Series Quadrature of a ConicC: Syllogistic LogicD: The Vis Viva DisputeE: Some Applications of Curves and Neusis in Greek GeometryF: InfinitesimalsA Note on the Author Readership: Advanced undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers in mathematics, history of mathematics or history of science. Keywords:Leibniz;Calculus;Geometry;17th Century MathematicsKey Features:The thoroughness and comprehensiveness of the treatment of this book are based on recent researchTechnical details of the mathematics are carefully dealt with instead of just being summarized for the general readerNo other work on the development of calculus includes a description and analysis of the Baroque/Renaissance atmosphere of fascination with symbols, emblems, Real Characters and philosophical languages which motivated both Leibniz's mathematics and his search for the Universal Characteristic

Transcendental Curves in the Leibnizian Calculus

Transcendental Curves in the Leibnizian Calculus PDF Author: Viktor Blasjo
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128132981
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Transcendental Curves in the Leibnizian Calculus analyzes the mathematical and philosophical conflict between Euclidean and Cartesian mathematics. For millennia, mathematical meaning and ontology had been anchored in geometrical constructions, as epitomized by Euclid's ruler and compass. As late as 1637, Descartes had placed himself squarely in this tradition when he justified his new technique of identifying curves with equations by means of certain curve-tracing instruments, thereby bringing together the ancient constructive tradition and modern algebraic methods in a satisfying marriage. But rapid advances in the new fields of infinitesimal calculus and mathematical mechanics soon ruined his grand synthesis. Descartes's scheme left out transcendental curves, i.e. curves with no polynomial equation, but in the course of these subsequent developments such curves emerged as indispensable. It was becoming harder and harder to juggle cutting-edge mathematics and ancient conceptions of its foundations at the same time, yet leading mathematicians, such as Leibniz felt compelled to do precisely this. The new mathematics fit more naturally an analytical conception of curves than a construction-based one, yet no one wanted to betray the latter, as this was seen as virtually tantamount to stop doing mathematics altogether. The credibility and authority of mathematics depended on it. Brings to light this underlying and often implicit complex of concerns that permeate early calculus Evaluates the technical conception and mathematical construction of the geometrical method Reveals a previously unrecognized Liebnizian programmatic cohesion in early calculus Provides a beautifully written work of outstanding original scholarship

The Origins of Infinitesimal Calculus

The Origins of Infinitesimal Calculus PDF Author: Margaret E. Baron
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483280926
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
The Origins of Infinitesimal Calculus focuses on the evolution, development, and applications of infinitesimal calculus. The publication first ponders on Greek mathematics, transition to Western Europe, and some center of gravity determinations in the later 16th century. Discussions focus on the growth of kinematics in the West, latitude of forms, influence of Aristotle, axiomatization of Greek mathematics, theory of proportion and means, method of exhaustion, discovery method of Archimedes, and curves, normals, tangents, and curvature. The manuscript then examines infinitesimals and indivisibles in the early 17th century and further advances in France and Italy. Topics include the link between differential and integral processes, concept of tangent, first investigations of the cycloid, and arithmetization of integration methods. The book reviews the infinitesimal methods in England and Low Countries and rectification of arcs. The publication is a vital source of information for historians, mathematicians, and researchers interested in infinitesimal calculus.

The History of the Calculus and Its Conceptual Development

The History of the Calculus and Its Conceptual Development PDF Author: Carl B. Boyer
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486175383
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 431

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Book Description
Fluent description of the development of both the integral and differential calculus — its early beginnings in antiquity, medieval contributions, and a consideration of Newton and Leibniz.

The Historical Development of the Calculus

The Historical Development of the Calculus PDF Author: C.H.Jr. Edwards
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461262305
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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Book Description
The calculus has served for three centuries as the principal quantitative language of Western science. In the course of its genesis and evolution some of the most fundamental problems of mathematics were first con fronted and, through the persistent labors of successive generations, finally resolved. Therefore, the historical development of the calculus holds a special interest for anyone who appreciates the value of a historical perspective in teaching, learning, and enjoying mathematics and its ap plications. My goal in writing this book was to present an account of this development that is accessible, not solely to students of the history of mathematics, but to the wider mathematical community for which my exposition is more specifically intended, including those who study, teach, and use calculus. The scope of this account can be delineated partly by comparison with previous works in the same general area. M. E. Baron's The Origins of the Infinitesimal Calculus (1969) provides an informative and reliable treat ment of the precalculus period up to, but not including (in any detail), the time of Newton and Leibniz, just when the interest and pace of the story begin to quicken and intensify. C. B. Boyer's well-known book (1949, 1959 reprint) met well the goals its author set for it, but it was more ap propriately titled in its original edition-The Concepts of the Calculus than in its reprinting.

The Calculus Wars

The Calculus Wars PDF Author: Jason Socrates Bardi
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0786733640
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
This vibrant and gripping history ultimately exposes how these twin mathematical giants (Newton, Leibniz) were proud, brilliant, at times mad, and in the end completely human.

G.W. Leibniz, Interrelations between Mathematics and Philosophy

G.W. Leibniz, Interrelations between Mathematics and Philosophy PDF Author: Norma B. Goethe
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401796645
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Up to now there have been scarcely any publications on Leibniz dedicated to investigating the interrelations between philosophy and mathematics in his thought. In part this is due to the previously restricted textual basis of editions such as those produced by Gerhardt. Through recent volumes of the scientific letters and mathematical papers series of the Academy Edition scholars have obtained a much richer textual basis on which to conduct their studies - material which allows readers to see interconnections between his philosophical and mathematical ideas which have not previously been manifested. The present book draws extensively from this recently published material. The contributors are among the best in their fields. Their commissioned papers cover thematically salient aspects of the various ways in which philosophy and mathematics informed each other in Leibniz's thought.

Calculus Reordered

Calculus Reordered PDF Author: David M. Bressoud
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691218781
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Calculus Reordered takes readers on a remarkable journey through hundreds of years to tell the story of how calculus grew to what we know today. David Bressoud explains why calculus is credited to Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz in the seventeenth century, and how its current structure is based on developments that arose in the nineteenth century. Bressoud argues that a pedagogy informed by the historical development of calculus presents a sounder way for students to learn this fascinating area of mathematics. Delving into calculus's birth in the Hellenistic Eastern Mediterranean--especially Syracuse in Sicily and Alexandria in Egypt--as well as India and the Islamic Middle East, Bressoud considers how calculus developed in response to essential questions emerging from engineering and astronomy. He looks at how Newton and Leibniz built their work on a flurry of activity that occurred throughout Europe, and how Italian philosophers such as Galileo Galilei played a particularly important role. In describing calculus's evolution, Bressoud reveals problems with the standard ordering of its curriculum: limits, differentiation, integration, and series. He contends instead that the historical order--which follows first integration as accumulation, then differentiation as ratios of change, series as sequences of partial sums, and finally limits as they arise from the algebra of inequalities--makes more sense in the classroom environment. Exploring the motivations behind calculus's discovery, Calculus Reordered highlights how this essential tool of mathematics came to be.