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 | | Mathematics: A Concise History and Philosophy (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics / Readings in Mathematics) by W.S. Anglin ISBN-10: 9780387942803 ISBN-10: 0-387-94280-7 ISBN-13: 9780387942803 ISBN-13: 978-0-387-94280-3 Hardcover 1996-04-04 Springer Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description This is a concise introductory textbook for a one semester course in the history and philosophy of mathematics. It is written for mathematics majors, philosophy students, history of science students and secondary school mathematics teachers. The only prerequisite is a solid command of pre-calculus mathematics. It is shorter than the standard textbooks in that area and thus more accessible to students who have trouble coping with vast amounts of reading. Furthermore, there are many detailed explanations of the important mathematical procedures actually used by famous mathematicians, giving more mathematically talented students a greater opportunity to learn the history and philosophy by way of problem solving. Several important philosophical topics are pursued throughout the text, giving the student an opportunity to come to a full and consistent knowledge of their development. These topics include infinity, the nature of motion, and Platonism. This book offers, in fewer pages, a deep penetration into the key mathematical and philosophical aspects of the history of mathematics. | ||
Reviews | ||
Trite; filled with unnecessary religious hot air This is a simplistic and shallow book. Proof if any is needed that relgious dogma (and the authors desire to spread it ... even in a maths book!) poisons the mind. The authors frequent attempts to bring god into the picture are unsubtle, (mostly) irrelevant and unbelievably crass. I am disappointed in Springer; how on earth did they allow this to be published? | ||
Nice Read overall Not a perfect book by any stretch, but I am not the type of reader who has to agree with a book to enjoy it. Many histories of mathematics books are rife with anti-god, anti-religion references, this is a balance to that. Admittedly a little pushy the other way, but not a bad read. | ||
Nice antidote to E. T. Bell On the math side of things, this book provides a concise overview of the history of mathematics. Actually, I found it to be a bit "too concise" - I think that a college professor would be hard-pressed to stretch the book out over a one-semester "History of Mathematics" course. The content of the book is clearly designed for liberal arts students interested in the "History of Mathematics", rather than for mathematics students interested in the "Mathematics of History". In an appendix at the end of the book the author includes a number of sample assignments, tests and exams which I personally found rather useful. Yes, I agree with previous reviewers that the author pushes his Christian views on the reader, but I must say that I found it a refreshing change to the tiresome and offensive anti-Christian propaganda found in E. T. Bell's book "Men of Mathematics", in which Blaise Pascal is made out to be a mentally ill religious lunatic, while Augustin-Louis Cauchy is made out to be a harsh and bigoted religious fanatic! | ||
Terrible The whole book is infested with very annoying and irrelevant personal thoughts on religion. Mathematicians seem to fall in two categories: Christian and atheist. The latter are generally evil and of little relevance, while the former are moral persons that have produced excellent mathematics. The following quotes from the book illustrate its general attitude: Exercise: Even if the solar system is gravitatinally stable, it still needs God to keep it in existence. Comment. Some historians feel that to be 'scientific' they must do their work on the assumption that there is no God. Laplace's greatest contribution to mathematics was his phrase 'it is easy to see'. | ||
disappointing Unfortunately, the text is liberally sprinkled with personal conjecture which makes it difficult to tell where opinion ends and history begins. Additionally, the abbreviated format often leads to shallow treatment of historically importatnt topics (e.g. Zeno's paradoxes). | ||