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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Lagrange's Theory Of Analytical Functions And His Ideal Of Purity Of Method, Giovanni Ferraro, Marco Panza
Lagrange's Theory Of Analytical Functions And His Ideal Of Purity Of Method, Giovanni Ferraro, Marco Panza
MPP Published Research
We reconstruct essential features of Lagrange’s theory of analytical functions by exhibiting its structure and basic assumptions, as well as its main shortcomings. We explain Lagrange’s notions of function and algebraic quantity, and we concentrate on power-series expansions, on the algorithm for derivative functions, and the remainder theorem—especially on the role this theorem has in solving geometric and mechanical problems. We thus aim to provide a better understanding of Enlightenment mathematics and to show that the foundations of mathematics did not, for Lagrange, concern the solidity of its ultimate bases, but rather purity of method—the generality and internal organization of …
The Quantum Dialectic, Logan Kelley
The Quantum Dialectic, Logan Kelley
Pitzer Senior Theses
A philosophic account of quantum physics. The thesis is divided into two parts. Part I is dedicated to laying the groundwork of quantum physics, and explaining some of the primary difficulties. Subjects of interest will include the principle of locality, the quantum uncertainty principle, and Einstein's criterion for reality. Quantum dilemmas discussed include the double-slit experiment, observations of spin and polarization, EPR, and Bell's theorem. The first part will argue that mathematical-physical descriptions of the world fall short of explaining the experimental observations of quantum phenomenon. The problem, as will be argued, is framework of the physical descriptive schema. Part …
Loss Of Vision: How Mathematics Turned Blind While It Learned To See More Clearly, Bernd Buldt, Dirk Schlimm
Loss Of Vision: How Mathematics Turned Blind While It Learned To See More Clearly, Bernd Buldt, Dirk Schlimm
Bernd Buldt
To discuss the developments of mathematics that have to do with the introduction of new objects, we distinguish between ‘Aristotelian’ and ‘non-Aristotelian’ accounts of abstraction and mathematical ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approaches. The development of mathematics from the 19th to the 20th century is then characterized as a move from a ‘bottom-up’ to a ‘top-down’ approach. Since the latter also leads to more abstract objects for which the Aristotelian account of abstraction is not well-suited, this development has also lead to a decrease of visualizations in mathematical practice.
A Foundation For Arithmetic, Kevin Halasz
A Foundation For Arithmetic, Kevin Halasz
Summer Research
This paper contains a proof of Frege's Theorem: the statement, first discovered by George Boolos, that Gottlob Frege's failed proof of the analyticity of arithmetic could be slightly altered so as to provide an axiomitization of arithmetic with just one proposition. After an expository treatment of the mathematical work in Frege's 'Foundations of Arithmetic,' the work in which Frege presented his failed proof, a novel, and particularly succinct, proof of the Theorem is provided.