John Wallis

  • Katherine Neal
Chapter
Part of the Australasian Studies in History and Philosophy of Science book series (AUST, volume 16)

Abstract

An investigation of John Wallis’ mathematical practice and his views about the nature of number and its relationship to magnitude will demonstrate that there were several options available to justify the broadening of the number concept and the breakdown in the separation between number and abstract magnitude. One needs to accept the unity of mathematics under geometry in order to accept Barrow’s foundation for number. But for Wallis, arithmetic and the new algebraic techniques had priority over geometry. Moreover, his practice depended a great deal upon numerical patterns and methods. Although Wallis did not state his opinions of continua concepts in as much detail as Barrow, his point of view will provide us with the ideas of a professional mathematician whose practice was mainly algebraic.

Keywords

Mathematical Practice Cube Root Mathematical Work Continuum Concept Negative Quantity 
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Referencias

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2002

Authors and Affiliations

  • Katherine Neal
    • 1
  1. 1.The University of SydneySydneyAustralia

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