Ebook: Descartes’s Mathematical Thought

Covering both the history of mathematics and of philosophy, Descartes's Mathematical Thought reconstructs the intellectual career of Descartes most comprehensively and originally in a global perspective including the history of early modern China and Japan. Especially, it shows what the concept of "mathesis universalis" meant before and during the period of Descartes and how it influenced the young Descartes. In fact, it was the most fundamental mathematical discipline during the seventeenth century, and for Descartes a key notion which may have led to his novel mathematics of algebraic analysis.

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Covering both the history of mathematics and of philosophy, Descartes's Mathematical Thought reconstructs the intellectual career of Descartes most comprehensively and originally in a global perspective including the history of early modern China and Japan. Especially, it shows what the concept of "mathesis universalis" meant before and during the period of Descartes and how it influenced the young Descartes. In fact, it was the most fundamental mathematical discipline during the seventeenth century, and for Descartes a key notion which may have led to his novel mathematics of algebraic analysis.

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Covering both the history of mathematics and of philosophy, Descartes's Mathematical Thought reconstructs the intellectual career of Descartes most comprehensively and originally in a global perspective including the history of early modern China and Japan. Especially, it shows what the concept of "mathesis universalis" meant before and during the period of Descartes and how it influenced the young Descartes. In fact, it was the most fundamental mathematical discipline during the seventeenth century, and for Descartes a key notion which may have led to his novel mathematics of algebraic analysis.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Introduction....Pages 1-9
Front Matter....Pages 11-11
Descartes and Jesuit Mathematical Education....Pages 13-44
The Mathematical Thought of Christoph Clavius....Pages 45-93
The First Attempt at Reforming Mathematics....Pages 95-157
The Mathematical Background of the Regulae ad Directionem Ingenii ....Pages 159-203
The G?om?trie of 1637....Pages 205-280
Interim Consideration....Pages 281-285
Front Matter....Pages 287-287
‘Universal Mathematics’ in Aristotle....Pages 289-331
‘Mathesis Universalis’ in the Sixteenth Century....Pages 333-358
‘Mathesis Universalis’ in the Seventeenth Century....Pages 359-418
Conclusion....Pages 419-438
Back Matter....Pages 439-496

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Covering both the history of mathematics and of philosophy, Descartes's Mathematical Thought reconstructs the intellectual career of Descartes most comprehensively and originally in a global perspective including the history of early modern China and Japan. Especially, it shows what the concept of "mathesis universalis" meant before and during the period of Descartes and how it influenced the young Descartes. In fact, it was the most fundamental mathematical discipline during the seventeenth century, and for Descartes a key notion which may have led to his novel mathematics of algebraic analysis.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Introduction....Pages 1-9
Front Matter....Pages 11-11
Descartes and Jesuit Mathematical Education....Pages 13-44
The Mathematical Thought of Christoph Clavius....Pages 45-93
The First Attempt at Reforming Mathematics....Pages 95-157
The Mathematical Background of the Regulae ad Directionem Ingenii ....Pages 159-203
The G?om?trie of 1637....Pages 205-280
Interim Consideration....Pages 281-285
Front Matter....Pages 287-287
‘Universal Mathematics’ in Aristotle....Pages 289-331
‘Mathesis Universalis’ in the Sixteenth Century....Pages 333-358
‘Mathesis Universalis’ in the Seventeenth Century....Pages 359-418
Conclusion....Pages 419-438
Back Matter....Pages 439-496
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