Richard T. W. Arthur, David Rabouin, Leibniz on the foundations of the differential calculus (Birkhäuser, 2025), 168 \times 240 mm, xvi-288 p., bibliogr., index nominum, index rerum, table, coll. «Frontiers in the history of science».
As early as the first publications of his differential and integral calculus, Leibniz stated that the essential principle for studying a curve was to consider it as an “infinitangular polygon” or a “polygon of infinitely many sides.” This supposition is not entirely original in the history of mathem...
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Sprog: | Français |
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2025
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| Online adgang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Summary: | As early as the first publications of his differential and integral calculus, Leibniz stated that the essential principle for studying a curve was to consider it as an “infinitangular polygon” or a “polygon of infinitely many sides.” This supposition is not entirely original in the history of mathematical practice, but Leibniz claims that, in the context of his invention, it is the one that ultimately leads to a general concept of a curve. This contribution is presented in the context of the reception of Leibniz’s calculus by a circle of mathematicians around the philosopher Nicolas Malebranche at the turn of the 17th century. These mathematicians had already undertaken a renewal of their skills, and so they did not appropriate Leibniz’s invention in virgin territory. Based on manuscripts, we examine the epistemological variations undergone by the concept of the infinitangular polygon through the new practice of writing represented by the Leibnizian calculus, as well as the forms of intertextuality employed by the actors. |
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