Mathematical Culture and Thought

Mathematical Culture and Thought

Renaissance Notions of Number and Magnitude

Document Type : Translation

Author
H. Oyarhoseyn
Graduated in history of science from Institute for the History of Science, University of Tehran, Iran
10.30504/mct.2023.1340.1934
Abstract
In the 16th and 17th centuries the classical Greek notions of (discrete) number
and (continuous) magnitude (preserved in medieval Latin translations of Euclid’s
Elements) underwent a major transformation that turned them into continuous but measurable
magnitudes. This article studies the changes introduced in the classical notions
of number and magnitude by three influential Renaissance editions of Euclid’s Elements.
Besides providing evidence of earlier discussions preparing notions and arguments
eventually introduced in Simon Stevin’s Arithmétique of 1585, these editions
document the role abacus algebra and Renaissance views on the history of mathematics
played in bridging the gulf between discrete numbers and continuous magnitudes.
Subjects
Malet, A., Renaissance notions of number and magnitude, Historia Math., 33 (2006), no. 1, 63-81.

  • Receive Date 31 October 2022
  • Accept Date 03 January 2023
  • Publish Date 22 June 2023