Other Mathematics Commons^™

The Agnostic Structure Of Data Science Methods, Domenico Napoletani, Marco Panza, Daniele Struppa

MPP Published Research

In this paper we argue that data science is a coherent and novel approach to empirical problems that, in its most general form, does not build understanding about phenomena. Within the new type of mathematization at work in data science, mathematical methods are not selected because of any relevance for a problem at hand; mathematical methods are applied to a specific problem only by `forcing’, i.e. on the basis of their ability to reorganize the data for further analysis and the intrinsic richness of their mathematical structure. In particular, we argue that deep learning neural networks are best understood within …

Analysis, Constructions And Diagrams In Classical Geometry, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

Greek ancient and early modern geometry necessarily uses diagrams. Among other things, these enter geometrical analysis. The paper distinguishes two sorts of geometrical analysis and shows that in one of them, dubbed “intra-confgurational” analysis, some diagrams necessarily enter as outcomes of a purely material gesture, namely not as result of a codifed constructive procedure, but as result of a free-hand drawing.

Diagrams In Intra-Configurational Analysis, Marco Panza, Gianluca Longa

MPP Published Research

In this paper we would like to attempt to shed some light on the way in which diagrams enter into the practice of ancient Greek geometrical analysis. To this end, we will first distinguish two main forms of this practice, i.e., trans-configurational and intra-configurational. We will then argue that, while in the former diagrams enter in the proof essentially in the same way (mutatis mutandis) they enter in canonical synthetic demonstrations, in the latter, they take part in the analytic argument in a specific way, which has no correlation in other aspects of classical geometry. In intra-configurational analysis, diagrams represent …

Asymptotic Quasi-Completeness And Zfc, Mirna Džamonja, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

The axioms ZFC of first order set theory are one of the best and most widely accepted, if not perfect, foundations used in mathematics. Just as the axioms of first order Peano Arithmetic, ZFC axioms form a recursively enumerable list of axioms, and are, then, subject to Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems. Hence, if they are assumed to be consistent, they are necessarily incomplete. This can be witnessed by various concrete statements, including the celebrated Continuum Hypothesis CH. The independence results about the infinite cardinals are so abundant that it often appears that ZFC can basically prove very little about such cardinals. …

Was Frege A Logicist For Arithmetic?, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

The paper argues that Frege’s primary foundational purpose concerning arithmetic was neither that of making natural numbers logical objects, nor that of making arithmetic a part of logic, but rather that of assigning to it an appropriate place in the architectonics of mathematics and knowledge, by immersing it in a theory of numbers of concepts and making truths about natural numbers, and/or knowledge of them transparent to reason without the medium of senses and intuition.

Enthymemathical Proofs And Canonical Proofs In Euclid’S Plane Geometry, Abel Lassalle, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

Since the application of Postulate I.2 in Euclid’s Elements is not uniform, one could wonder in what way should it be applied in Euclid’s plane geometry. Besides legitimizing questions like this from the perspective of a philosophy of mathematical practice, we sketch a general perspective of conceptual analysis of mathematical texts, which involves an extended notion of mathematical theory as system of authorizations, and an audience-dependent notion of proof.

Review Of G. Israel, Meccanicismo. Trionfi E Miserie Della Visione Meccanica Del Mondo, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

"This is Giorgio's Israel last book, which appeared only a few weeks after his untimely death, in September 2015. For many reasons, it can be considered as his intellectual legacy, since it comes back, in a new and organic way, to many of the research topics to which he devoted his life and his many publications, which include several papers in Historia Mathematica. One of these papers, co-authored with M. Menghini, appeared in vol. 25/4, 1998 and was devoted to Poincaré's and Enriques's opposite views on qualitative analysis, which is a theme also dealt with in this book (pp. 117–122)."

On Benacerraf’S Dilemma, Again, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

In spite of its enormous influence, Benacerraf’s dilemma admits no standard unanimously accepted formulation. This mainly depends on Benacerraf’s having originally presented it in a quite colloquial way, by avoiding any compact, somehow codified, but purportedly comprehensive formulation (Benacerraf 1973 cf. p. 29).

Platonismes, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

Selon la vulgata philosophique, le platonisme concernant un certain domaine de recherche est la thèse affirmant que ce domaine concerne des objets qui lui sont propres, dont l’existence est indépendante de l’activité cognitive humaine. Souvent, dans la même vulgata on parle aussi de platonisme pour se référer à une thèse un peu différente, d’après laquelle ce qu’on dit concernant ce domaine est vrai ou faux indépendamment de toute justification ou réfutation que l’on puisse apporter. Naturellement, si parmi les énoncées ayant trait à ce demain, il y en a qu’on peut prendre comme particulièrement surs du fait d’en avoir une …

Abstraction And Epistemic Economy, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

Most of the arguments usually appealed to in order to support the view that some abstraction principles are analytic depend on ascribing to them some sort of existential parsimony or ontological neutrality, whereas the opposite arguments, aiming to deny this view, contend this ascription. As a result, other virtues that these principles might have are often overlooked. Among them, there is an epistemic virtue which I take these principles to have, when regarded in the appropriate settings, and which I suggest to call ‘epistemic economy’. My purpose is to isolate and clarify this notion by appealing to some examples concerning …

The Varieties Of Indispensability Arguments, Marco Panza, Andrea Sereni

MPP Published Research

The indispensability argument (IA) comes in many different versions that all reduce to a general valid schema. Providing a sound IA amounts to providing a full interpretation of the schema according to which all its premises are true. Hence, arguing whether IA is sound results in wondering whether the schema admits such an interpretation. We discuss in full details all the parameters on which the specification of the general schema may depend. In doing this, we consider how different versions of IA can be obtained, also through different specifications of the notion of indispensability. We then distinguish between schematic and …

Introduction To Functions And Generality Of Logic. Reflections On Frege's And Dedekind's Logicisms, Hourya Benis Sinaceur, Marco Panza, Gabriel Sandu

MPP Published Research

This book examines three connected aspects of Frege’s logicism: the differences between Dedekind’s and Frege’s interpretation of the term ‘logic’ and related terms and reflects on Frege’s notion of function, comparing its understanding and the role it played in Frege’s and Lagrange’s foundational programs. It concludes with an examination of the notion of arbitrary function, taking into account Frege’s, Ramsey’s and Russell’s view on the subject. Composed of three chapters, this book sheds light on important aspects of Dedekind’s and Frege’s logicisms. The first chapter explains how, although he shares Frege’s aim at substituting logical standards of rigor to intuitive …

Newton On Indivisibles, Antoni Malet, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

Though Wallis’s Arithmetica infinitorum was one of Newton’s major sources of inspiration during the first years of his mathematical education, indivisibles were not a central feature of his mathematical production.

Wallis On Indivisibles, Antoni Malet, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

The present chapter is devoted, first, to discuss in detail the structure and results of Wallis’s major and most influential mathematical work, the Arithmetica Infinitorum (Wallis 1656). Next we will revise Wallis’s views on indivisibles as articulated in his answer to Hobbes’s criticism in the early 1670s. Finally, we will turn to his discussion of the proper way to understand the angle of contingence in the first half of the 1680s. As we shall see, there are marked differences in the status that indivisibles seem to enjoy in Wallis’s thought along his mathematical career. These differences correlate with the changing …

Pruebas Entimemáticas Y Pruebas Canónicas En La Geometría Plana De Euclides, Marco Panza, Abel Lassalle Casanave

MPP Published Research

Dado que la aplicación del Postulado I.2 no es uniforme en Elementos, ¿de qué manera debería ser aplicado en la geometría plana de Euclides? Además de legitimar la pregunta misma desde la perspectiva de una filosofía de la práctica matemática, nos proponemos esbozar una perspectiva general de análisis conceptual de textos matemáticos que involucra una noción ampliada de la teoría matemática como sistema de autorizaciones o potestades y una noción de prueba que depende del auditorio.

Since the application of Postulate I.2 in the Elements is not uniform, one could wonder in what way should it be applied in Euclid’s …

The Logical System Of Frege’S Grundgesetze : A Rational Reconstruction, Méven Cadet, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

This paper aims at clarifying the nature of Frege's system of logic, as presented in the first volume of the Grundgesetze . We undertake a rational reconstruction of this system, by distinguishing its propositional and predicate fragments. This allows us to emphasise the differences and similarities between this system and a modern system of classical second-order logic.

On The Indispensable Premises Of The Indispensability Argument, Andrea Sereni, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

We identify four different minimal versions of the indispensability argument, falling under four different varieties: an epistemic argument for semantic realism, an epistemic argument for platonism and a non-epistemic version of both. We argue that most current formulations of the argument can be reconstructed by building upon the suggested minimal versions. Part of our discussion relies on a clarification of the notion of (in)dispensability as relational in character. We then present some substantive consequences of our inquiry for the philosophical significance of the indispensability argument, the most relevant of which being that both naturalism and confirmational holism can be dispensed …

Euler, Reader Of Newton: Mechanics And Algebraic Analysis, Sébastien Maronne, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

We follow two of the many paths leading from Newton’s to Euler’s scientific productions, and give an account of Euler’s role in the reception of some of Newton’s ideas, as regards two major topics: mechanics and algebraic analysis. Euler contributed to a re-appropriation of Newtonian science, though transforming it in many relevant aspects. We study this re-appropriation with respect to the mentioned topics and show that it is grounded on the development of Newton’s conceptions within a new conceptual frame also influenced by Descartes’s views sand Leibniz’s formalism.

From Velocities To Fluxions, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

"Though the De Methodis results, for its essential structure and content, from a re-elaboration of a previous unfinished treatise composed in the Fall of 1666—now known, after Whiteside, as The October 1666 tract on fluxions ([22], I, pp. 400-448)—, the introduction of the term ‘fluxion’ goes together with an important conceptual change concerned with Newton’s understanding of his own achievements. I shall argue that this change marks a crucial step in the origins of analysis, conceived as an autonomous mathematical theory."

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 …

Rethinking Geometrical Exactness, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

A crucial concern of early modern geometry was fixing appropriate norms for deciding whether some objects, procedures, or arguments should or should not be allowed into it. According to Bos, this is the exactness concern. I argue that Descartes’s way of responding to this concern was to suggest an appropriate conservative extension of Euclid’s plane geometry (EPG). In Section 2, I outline the exactness concern as, I think, it appeared to Descartes. In Section 3, I account for Descartes’s views on exactness and for his attitude towards the most common sorts of constructions in classical geometry. I also explain in …

Breathing Fresh Air Into The Philosophy Of Mathematics, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

A review of Paolo Mancosu (ed.): The Philosophy of Mathematical Practice.

Agnostic Science. Towards A Philosophy Of Data Analysis, Domenico Napoletani, Marco Panza, Daniele C. Struppa

MPP Published Research

In this paper we will offer a few examples to illustrate the orientation of contemporary research in data analysis and we will investigate the corresponding role of mathematics. We argue that the modus operandi of data analysis is implicitly based on the belief that if we have collected enough and sufficiently diverse data, we will be able to answer most relevant questions concerning the phenomenon itself. This is a methodological paradigm strongly related, but not limited to, biology, and we label it the microarray paradigm. In this new framework, mathematics provides powerful techniques and general ideas which generate new …

Is The Notion Of Mathematical Object An Historical Notion?, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

"Both historians and philosophers of mathematics frequently speak of mathematical objects. Are they speaking of the same or of similar things? Better: are they appealing to the same notion or to similar notions?"

The Role Of Algebraic Inferences In Naîm Ibn Mûsa’S Collection Of Geometrical Propositions, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

Na‘im ibn Musa's lived in Baghdad in the second half of the 9th century. He was probably not a major mathematician. Still his Collection of geometrical propositions---recently edited and translated in French by Roshdi Rashed and Christian Houzel---reflects quite well the mathematical practice that was common in Thabit ibn Qurra's school. A relevant characteristic of Na‘im's treatise is its large use of a form of inferences that can be said ‘algebric' in a sense that will be explained. They occur both in proofs of theorems and in solutions of problems. In the latter case, they enter different sorts of problematic …

François Viète, Between Analysis And Cryptanalysis, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

François Viète is considered the father both of modern algebra and of modern cryptanalysis. The paper outlines Viète's major contributions in these two mathematical fields and argues that, despite an obvious parallel between them, there is an essential difference. Viète's 'new algebra' relies on his reform of the classical method of analysis and synthesis, in particular on a new conception of analysis and the introduction of a new formalism. The procedures he suggests to decrypt coded messages are particular forms of analysis based on the use of formal methods. However, Viète's algebraic analysis is not an analysis in the same …

Some Sober Conceptions Of Mathematical Truth, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

It is not sufficient to supply an instance of Tarski’s schema, ⌈“p” is true if and only if p⌉ for a certain statement in order to get a definition of truth for this statement and thus fix a truth-condition for it. A definition of the truth of a statement x of a language L is a bi-conditional whose two members are two statements of a meta-language L’. Tarski’s schema simply suggests that a definition of truth for a certain segment x of a language L consists in a statement of the form: ⌈v(x) is true if and only if τ(x)⌉, …

Developing Into Series And Returning From Series: A Note On The Foundations Of Eighteenth-Century Analysis, Giovanni Ferraro, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

In this paper we investigate two problems concerning the theory of power series in 18th-century mathematics: the development of a given function into a power series and the inverse problem, the return from a given power series to the function of which this power series is the development. The way of conceiving and solving these problems closely depended on the notion of function and in particular on the conception of a series as the result of a formal transformation of a function. After describing the procedures considered acceptable by 18th-century mathematicians, we examine in detail the different strategies—both direct and …

Mathematisation Of The Science Of Motion And The Birth Of Analytical Mechanics : A Historiographical Note, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

Usually, one speaks of mathematization of a natural or social science to mean that mathematics comes to be a tool of such a science: the language of mathematics is used to formulate its results, and/or some mathematical techniques is employed to obtain these results.

La Révolution Scientifique, Les Révolutions, Et L'Histoire Des Sciences. Comment Ernest Coumet Nous A Libérés De L'Héritage D'Alexandre Koyré, Marco Panza

MPP Published Research

Dans son intervention au colloque Koyré (Paris, 1986), Ernest Coumet a suggéré que le terme «révolution scientifique» ne désigne pas chez Koyré un événement historique, mais un idéaltype, au sens de Max Weber. L'auteur discute d'abord cette thèse de Coumet et expose les arguments que ce dermier apporte pour la soutenir. Dans la deuxième partie de l'article, il critique l'usage de la notion de révolution en histoire des sciences, en s'opposant en particulier à la possibilité de distinguer dans les productions des savants une «pensée scientifique» qui serait influencée par la «pensée philosophique» et dont les bouleversements marqueraient l'avènement d'une …