Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I The Calculus as Algebra
- Part II Selected Writings
- 1 The Mathematician, the Historian, and the History of Mathematics
- 2 Who Gave You the Epsilon? Cauchy and the Origins of Rigorous Calculus
- 3 The Changing Concept of Change: The Derivative from Fermat to Weierstrass
- 4 The Centrality of Mathematics in the History of Western Thought
- 5 Descartes and Problem-Solving
- 6 The Calculus as Algebra, the Calculus as Geometry: Lagrange, Maclaurin, and Their Legacy
- 7 Was Newton's Calculus a Dead End? The Continental Influence of Maclaurin's Treatise of Fluxions
- 8 Newton, Maclaurin, and the Authority of Mathematics
- 9 Why Should Historical Truth Matter to Mathematicians? Dispelling Myths while Promoting Maths
- 10 Why Did Lagrange “Prove” the Parallel Postulate?
- Index
- About the Author
This chapter is part of a book that is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core
5 - Descartes and Problem-Solving
from Part II - Selected Writings
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I The Calculus as Algebra
- Part II Selected Writings
- 1 The Mathematician, the Historian, and the History of Mathematics
- 2 Who Gave You the Epsilon? Cauchy and the Origins of Rigorous Calculus
- 3 The Changing Concept of Change: The Derivative from Fermat to Weierstrass
- 4 The Centrality of Mathematics in the History of Western Thought
- 5 Descartes and Problem-Solving
- 6 The Calculus as Algebra, the Calculus as Geometry: Lagrange, Maclaurin, and Their Legacy
- 7 Was Newton's Calculus a Dead End? The Continental Influence of Maclaurin's Treatise of Fluxions
- 8 Newton, Maclaurin, and the Authority of Mathematics
- 9 Why Should Historical Truth Matter to Mathematicians? Dispelling Myths while Promoting Maths
- 10 Why Did Lagrange “Prove” the Parallel Postulate?
- Index
- About the Author
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- A Historian Looks BackThe Calculus as Algebra and Selected Writings, pp. 175 - 190Publisher: Mathematical Association of AmericaPrint publication year: 2010