Greek Mathematical Thought and the Origin of Algebra
Important study focuses on the revival and assimilation of ancient Greek mathematics in the 13th-16th centuries, via Arabic science, and the 16th-century development of symbolic algebra. This brought about the crucial change in the concept of number that made possible modern science - in which the symbolic "form" of a mathematical statement is completely inseparable from its "content" of physical meaning. Includes a translation of Vieta's Introduction to the Analytical Art. 1968 edition. Bibliography
History
1 online resource
9781306326162, 9780486319810, 1306326168, 0486319814
868278908
Print version:
Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Author's note; Translator's note; Short titles frequently used; Table of Contents; Part I; 1 Introduction: Purpose and plan of the inquiry.; 2 The opposition of logistic and arithmetic in the Neoplatonists.; 3 Logistic and arithmetic in Plato.; 4 The role of the theory of proportions in Nicomachus, Theon, and Domninus.; 5 Theoretical logistic and the problem of fractions.; 6 The concept of arithmos.; 7 The ontological conception of the arithmoi in Plato.; 8 The Aristotelian critique and the possibility of a theoretical logistic.; Part II. 9 On the difference between ancient and modern conceptualization.10 The Arithmetic of Diophantus as theoretical logistic. The concept ofeidos in Diophantus; 11 The formalism of Vieta and the transformation of thearithmos concept.; 12 The concept of "number."; Notes; Part I, Notes 1-125; Part II, Notes 126-348; Appendix Introduction to the Analytical Art, by François Viète (Vieta). Letter to Princess Mélusine.; Index of names; Index of topics