Infinitesimal Differences
Controversies between Leibniz and his Contemporaries
Published on 3. November 2008
Book
Mixed media product
VI, 627 pages
978-3-11-173062-2 (ISBN)
Description
The development of the calculus during the 17th century was successful in mathematical practice, but raised questions about the nature of infinitesimals: were they real or rather fictitious? This collection of essays, by scholars from Canada, the US, Germany, Japan and Switzerland, gives a comprehensive study of the controversies over the nature and status of the infinitesimal. Aside from Leibniz, the scholars considered are Hobbes, Wallis, Newton, Bernoulli, Hermann, and Nieuwentijt. The collection also contains newly discovered marginalia of Leibniz to the writings of Hobbes.
Reviews / Votes
"As a philosopher, Leibniz thought deeply about the nature of the infinite and the infinitesimal. [...] Infinitesimal Differences makes compulsory reading for anyone interested in how Leibniz defined and manipulated infinitesimals as geometrical, algebraic, and physical magnitudes, and how Leibniz's ideas on infinitesimals were received-and often misunderstood-by his contemporaries, including acolytes of his, such as Johann Bernoulli."Niccolo Guicciardini in: NTMZeitschrift fur Geschichte der Wissenschaften,Technik und Medizin,Band18/ 2010More details
Persons
Ursula Goldenbaum, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA and Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton; Douglas Jesseph, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA.