Introduction: The historical interpretation of mathematical texts and the problem of anachronism
Capitolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2021
Citazione:
Introduction: The historical interpretation of mathematical texts and the problem of anachronism / N. GUICCIARDINI CORSI SALVIATI - In: Anachronisms in the History of Mathematics : Essays on the Historical Interpretation of Mathematical Texts / [a cura di] N. Guicciardini. - [s.l] : Cambridge University Press, 2021. - ISBN 9781108834964. - pp. 1-41
Abstract:
I provide a definition of “anachronism” aswell as an overview of the different positions concerning anachronism taken by historians of mathematics, since the important debate on the “algebra” of the Babylonians and the “geometrical algebra” of Euclid and Apollonius. Should we stress the continuity of past mathematics with the mathematics practiced today, or should we emphasize its difference, namely what makes it a product of a distant, Babylonian or Greek, mathematical culture?
The issue of anachronism is a vexed one in historical interpretation, but is particularly thorny when one attempts to historicize a discipline that is, perhaps naively, celebrated for being independent of the context. The overview made available in this chapter provides the reader with information on the historiographical background against which the following chapters have been written.
Tipologia IRIS:
03 - Contributo in volume
Keywords:
History of mathematics; Historiography
Elenco autori:
N. GUICCIARDINI CORSI SALVIATI
Link alla scheda completa:
Titolo del libro:
Anachronisms in the History of Mathematics : Essays on the Historical Interpretation of Mathematical Texts