Anachronisms in the History of Mathematics

Essays on the Historical Interpretation of Mathematical Texts

Niccolò Guicciardini

• Éditeur: Cambridge University Press
• Année: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781108883283
• Sujet: Mathematics
• Sous-sujet: History & Philosophy of Mathematics

The controversial matters surrounding the notion of anachronism are difficult ones: they have been broached by literary and art critics, by philosophers, as well as by historians of science. This book adopts a bottom-up approach to the many problems concerning anachronism in the history of mathematics. Some of the leading scholars in the field of history of mathematics reflect on the applicability of present-day mathematical language, concepts, standards, disciplinary boundaries, indeed notions of mathematics itself, to well-chosen historical case studies belonging to the mathematics of the past, in European and non-European cultures. A detailed introduction describes the key themes and binds the various chapters together. The interdisciplinary and transcultural approach adopted allows this volume to cover topics important for history of mathematics, history of the physical sciences, history of science, philosophy of mathematics, history of philosophy, methodology of history, non-European science, and the transmission of mathematical knowledge across cultures.

Table des matières

• Cover
• Half-title
• Title page
• Copyright information
• Contents
• Contributors
• Figures
• Preface
• 1 Introduction: The historical interpretation of mathematical texts and the problem of anachronism
• 2 From reading rules to reading algorithms: textual anachronisms in the history of mathematics and their effects on interpretation
• 3 Anachronism and anachorism in the study of mathematics in India
• 4 On the need to re-examine the relationship between the mathematical sciences and philosophy in Greek antiquity
• 5 Productive anachronism: on mathematical reconstruction as a historiographical method
• 6 Anachronism in the Renaissance historiography of mathematics
• 7 Deceptive familiarity: differential equations in Leibniz and the Leibnizian school (1689–1736)
• 8 Euler and analysis: case studies and historiographical perspectives
• 9 Measuring past geometers: a history of non-metric projective anachronism
• 10 Anachronism: Bonola and non-Euclidean geometry
• 11 Anachronism and incommensurability: words, concepts, contexts, and intentions
• Index