Mathematical Analysis

Mathematical Analysis
Author: Mariano Giaquinta
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2012-08-31
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0817644148

* Embraces a broad range of topics in analysis requiring only a sound knowledge of calculus and the functions of one variable. * Filled with beautiful illustrations, examples, exercises at the end of each chapter, and a comprehensive index.

Isaac Newton on Mathematical Certainty and Method

Isaac Newton on Mathematical Certainty and Method
Author: Niccolo Guicciardini
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2011-08-19
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0262291657

An analysis of Newton's mathematical work, from early discoveries to mature reflections, and a discussion of Newton's views on the role and nature of mathematics. Historians of mathematics have devoted considerable attention to Isaac Newton's work on algebra, series, fluxions, quadratures, and geometry. In Isaac Newton on Mathematical Certainty and Method, Niccolò Guicciardini examines a critical aspect of Newton's work that has not been tightly connected to Newton's actual practice: his philosophy of mathematics. Newton aimed to inject certainty into natural philosophy by deploying mathematical reasoning (titling his main work The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy most probably to highlight a stark contrast to Descartes's Principles of Philosophy). To that end he paid concerted attention to method, particularly in relation to the issue of certainty, participating in contemporary debates on the subject and elaborating his own answers. Guicciardini shows how Newton carefully positioned himself against two giants in the “common” and “new” analysis, Descartes and Leibniz. Although his work was in many ways disconnected from the traditions of Greek geometry, Newton portrayed himself as antiquity's legitimate heir, thereby distancing himself from the moderns. Guicciardini reconstructs Newton's own method by extracting it from his concrete practice and not solely by examining his broader statements about such matters. He examines the full range of Newton's works, from his early treatises on series and fluxions to the late writings, which were produced in direct opposition to Leibniz. The complex interactions between Newton's understanding of method and his mathematical work then reveal themselves through Guicciardini's careful analysis of selected examples. Isaac Newton on Mathematical Certainty and Method uncovers what mathematics was for Newton, and what being a mathematician meant to him.

Journey through Mathematics

Journey through Mathematics
Author: Enrique A. González-Velasco
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2011-08-08
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0387921540

This book offers an accessible and in-depth look at some of the most important episodes of two thousand years of mathematical history. Beginning with trigonometry and moving on through logarithms, complex numbers, infinite series, and calculus, this book profiles some of the lesser known but crucial contributors to modern day mathematics. It is unique in its use of primary sources as well as its accessibility; a knowledge of first-year calculus is the only prerequisite. But undergraduate and graduate students alike will appreciate this glimpse into the fascinating process of mathematical creation. The history of math is an intercontinental journey, and this book showcases brilliant mathematicians from Greece, Egypt, and India, as well as Europe and the Islamic world. Several of the primary sources have never before been translated into English. Their interpretation is thorough and readable, and offers an excellent background for teachers of high school mathematics as well as anyone interested in the history of math.

Analysis by Its History

Analysis by Its History
Author: Ernst Hairer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2008-06-02
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0387770313

This book presents first-year calculus roughly in the order in which it was first discovered. The first two chapters show how the ancient calculations of practical problems led to infinite series, differential and integral calculus and to differential equations. The establishment of mathematical rigour for these subjects in the 19th century for one and several variables is treated in chapters III and IV. Many quotations are included to give the flavor of the history. The text is complemented by a large number of examples, calculations and mathematical pictures and will provide stimulating and enjoyable reading for students, teachers, as well as researchers.

Hegel and Newtonianism

Hegel and Newtonianism
Author: Michael John Petry
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 636
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9401116628

It could certainly be argued that the way in which Hegel criticizes Newton in the Dissertation, the Philosophy of Nature and the lectures on the History of Philosophy, has done more than anything else to prejudice his own reputation. At first sight, what we seem to have here is little more than the contrast between the tested accomplishments of the founding father of modern science, and the random remarks of a confused and somewhat disgruntled philosopher; and if we are persuaded to concede that it may perhaps be something more than this - between the work of a clearsighted mathematician and experimentalist, and the blind assertions of some sort of Kantian logician, blundering about among the facts of the real world. By and large, it was this clear-cut simplistic view of the matter which prevailed among Hegel's contemporaries, and which persisted until fairly recently. The modification and eventual transformation of it have come about gradually, over the past twenty or twenty-five years. The first full-scale commentary on the Philosophy of Nature was published in 1970, and gave rise to the realization that to some extent at least, the Hegelian criticism was directed against Newtonianism rather than the work of Newton himself, and that it tended to draw its inspiration from developments within the natural sciences, rather than from the exigencies imposed upon Hegel's thinking by a priori categorial relationships.

Mathematics Emerging

Mathematics Emerging
Author: Jacqueline Stedall
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 676
Release: 2008-09-04
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0199226903

This book examines the development of mathematics from the late 16th Century to the end of the 19th Century. Each chapter will focus on a particular topic and outline its history with the provision of facsimiles of primary source material along with explanatory notes and modern interpretations.