Abstract
Duhem's portrayal of the history of mathematics as manifesting calm and regular development is traced to his conception of mathematical rigor as an essentially static concept. This account is undermined by citing controversies over rigorous demonstration from the eighteenth and twentieth centuries.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Benacerraf, P. and H. Putnam: 1983, Philosophy of Mathematics: Selected Readings, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Berkeley, G.: 1734, The Analyst, in A. A. Luce and T. E. Jessop (eds.): 1957, The Works of George Berkeley Bishop of Cloyne, 9 vols, Thomas Nelson and Sons, London, vol. 4, pp. 53–102.
Cajori, F.: 1919, A History of the Conceptions of Limits and Fluxions in Great Britain from Newton to Woodhouse, Open Court, Chicago and London.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jesseph, D. Rigorous proof and the history of mathematics: Comments on Crowe. Synthese 83, 449–453 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00413428
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00413428
Keywords
- Twentieth Century
- Rigorous Proof
- Static Concept
- Mathematical Rigor
- Regular Development