| Description |
xviii, 430 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Series |
SUNY series in science, technology, and society |
|
SUNY series in science, technology, and society.
|
| Contents |
1. Varieties of Mathematical Discourse in Pre-Modern Sociocultural Contexts: Mesopotamia, Greece, and the Latin Middle Ages -- 2. Subscientific Mathematics: Observations on a Pre-Modern Phenomenon -- 3. Mathematics and Early State Formation, or The Janus Face of Early Mesopotamian Mathematics: Bureaucratic Tool and Expression of Scribal Professional Autonomy -- 4. The Formation of "Islamic Mathematics": Sources and Conditions -- 5. Philosophy: Accident, Epiphenomenon, or Contributory Cause of the Changing Trends of Mathematics - A Sketch of the Development from the Twelfth Through the Sixteenth Century -- 6. Jordanus de Nemore: A Case Study on Thirteenth-Century Mathematical Innovation and Failure in Cultural Context -- 7. Platonism or Archimedism: On the Ideology and Self-Imposed Model of Renaissance Mathematicians (1400 to 1600) |
|
8. On Mathematics and War: An Essay on the Implications, Past and Present, of the Military Involvement of the Mathematical Sciences for Their Development and Potentials / Jens Hoyrup and Bernhelm Booss-Bavnbek |
| Summary |
Jens Hoyrup, recognized as the leading authority in social studies of pre-modern mathematics, here provides a social study of the changing mode of mathematical thought through history. His "anthropology" of mathematics is a unique approach to its history, in which he examines its pursuit and development as conditioned by the wider social and cultural context. Hoyrup moves from comparing features of Sumero-Babylonian, Mesopotamian, Ancient Greek, and Latin Medieval mathematics, to examining the character of Islamic practitioners of mathematics. He also looks at the impact of ideologies and philosophy on mathematics from Latin High Middle ages through the late Renaissance. Finally, he examines modern and contemporary mathematics, drawing out recurring themes in mathematical knowledge |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [351]-402) and indexes |
| Subject |
Mathematics -- History.
|
|
Mathematics -- Social aspects.
|
| LC no. |
93000835 |
| ISBN |
0791418219 (acid-free) |
|
0791418227 (paperback: acid-free) |
|
