Infinitesimal Differences

Infinitesimal Differences PDF Author: Ursula Goldenbaum
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110211866
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
The essays offer a unified and comprehensive view of 17th century mathematical and metaphysical disputes over status of infinitesimals, particularly the question whether they were real or mere fictions. Leibniz's development of the calculus and his understanding of its metaphysical foundation are taken as both a point of departure and a frame of reference for the 17th century discussions of infinitesimals, that involved Hobbes, Wallis, Newton, Bernoulli, Hermann, and Nieuwentijt. Although the calculus was undoubtedly successful in mathematical practice, it remained controversial because its procedures seemed to lack an adequate metaphysical or methodological justification. The topic is also of philosophical interest, because Leibniz freely employed the language of infinitesimal quantities in the foundations of his dynamics and theory of forces. Thus, philosophical disputes over the Leibnizian science of bodies naturally involve questions about the nature of infinitesimals. The volume also includes newly discovered Leibnizian marginalia in the mathematical writings of Hobbes.

Infinitesimal Differences

Infinitesimal Differences PDF Author: Ursula Goldenbaum
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110211866
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
The essays offer a unified and comprehensive view of 17th century mathematical and metaphysical disputes over status of infinitesimals, particularly the question whether they were real or mere fictions. Leibniz's development of the calculus and his understanding of its metaphysical foundation are taken as both a point of departure and a frame of reference for the 17th century discussions of infinitesimals, that involved Hobbes, Wallis, Newton, Bernoulli, Hermann, and Nieuwentijt. Although the calculus was undoubtedly successful in mathematical practice, it remained controversial because its procedures seemed to lack an adequate metaphysical or methodological justification. The topic is also of philosophical interest, because Leibniz freely employed the language of infinitesimal quantities in the foundations of his dynamics and theory of forces. Thus, philosophical disputes over the Leibnizian science of bodies naturally involve questions about the nature of infinitesimals. The volume also includes newly discovered Leibnizian marginalia in the mathematical writings of Hobbes.

A Primer of Infinitesimal Analysis

A Primer of Infinitesimal Analysis PDF Author: John L. Bell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521887186
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 7

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Book Description
A rigorous, axiomatically formulated presentation of the 'zero-square', or 'nilpotent' infinitesimal.

Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus

Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus PDF Author: Catherinus Putnam Buckingham
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Calculus
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description


Elements of the Mathematical Theory of Limits

Elements of the Mathematical Theory of Limits PDF Author: John Gaston Leathem
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Calculus
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description


The Problem of the Earth's Shape from Newton to Clairaut

The Problem of the Earth's Shape from Newton to Clairaut PDF Author: John L. Greenberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521385411
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 808

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Book Description
This book investigates, through the problem of the earth's shape, part of the development of post-Newtonian mechanics by the Parisian scientific community during the first half of the eighteenth century. In the Principia Newton first raised the question of the earth's shape. John Greenberg shows how continental scholars outside France influenced efforts in Paris to solve the problem, and he also demonstrates that Parisian scholars, including Bouguer and Fontaine, did work that Alexis-Claude Clairaut used in developing his mature theory of the earth's shape. The evolution of Parisian mechanics proved not to be the replacement of a Cartesian paradigm by a Newtonian one, a replacement that might be expected from Thomas Kuhn's formulations about scientific revolutions, but a complex process instead involving many areas of research and contributions of different kinds from the entire scientific world. Greenberg both explores the myriad of technical problems that underlie the historical development of part of post-Newtonian mechanics, which have only been rarely analyzed by Western scholars, and embeds his technical discussion in a framework that involves social and institutional history politics, and biography. Instead of focusing exclusively on the historiographical problem, Greenberg shows as well that international scientific communication was as much a vital part of the scientific progress of individual nations during the first half of the eighteenth century as it is today.

Berkeley's Philosophy of Mathematics

Berkeley's Philosophy of Mathematics PDF Author: Douglas M. Jesseph
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226398951
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
In this first modern, critical assessment of the place of mathematics in Berkeley's philosophy and Berkeley's place in the history of mathematics, Douglas M. Jesseph provides a bold reinterpretation of Berkeley's work. Jesseph challenges the prevailing view that Berkeley's mathematical writings are peripheral to his philosophy and argues that mathematics is in fact central to his thought, developing out of his critique of abstraction. Jesseph's argument situates Berkeley's ideas within the larger historical and intellectual context of the Scientific Revolution. Jesseph begins with Berkeley's radical opposition to the received view of mathematics in the philosophy of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when mathematics was considered a "science of abstractions." Since this view seriously conflicted with Berkeley's critique of abstract ideas, Jesseph contends that he was forced to come up with a nonabstract philosophy of mathematics. Jesseph examines Berkeley's unique treatments of geometry and arithmetic and his famous critique of the calculus in The Analyst. By putting Berkeley's mathematical writings in the perspective of his larger philosophical project and examining their impact on eighteenth-century British mathematics, Jesseph makes a major contribution to philosophy and to the history and philosophy of science.

A Treatise on the Differential and Integral Calculus

A Treatise on the Differential and Integral Calculus PDF Author: Theodore Strong
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Calculus
Languages : en
Pages : 652

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Book Description


Supreme Court

Supreme Court PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1160

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Book Description


Irregularities and Prediction of Major Disasters

Irregularities and Prediction of Major Disasters PDF Author: Yi Lin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420087460
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 630

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Book Description
Although scientists have effectively employed the concepts of probability to address the complex problem of prediction, modern science still falls short in establishing true predictions with meaningful lead times of zero-probability major disasters. The recent earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China are tragic reminders of the critical need for

Review of Austrian Economics, Volume 10

Review of Austrian Economics, Volume 10 PDF Author: Murray Rothbard
Publisher: Ludwig von Mises Institute
ISBN: 1610161696
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description