The Meaning of [Greek transliteration begin]plasmatikon[Greek transliteration end] in Diophantus' Arithmetica (2009)
Abstract Three problems in book I of Diophantus' Arithmetica contain the adjective plasmatikon, that appears to qualify an implicit reference to some theorems in Elements, book II. The translation and meaning of the adjective sparked a long-lasting controversy that has become a nonnegligible aspect of the debate about the possibility of interpreting Diophantus' approach and, more generally, Greek mathematics in algebraic terms. The correct interpretation of the word, a technical term in the Greek rhetorical tradition that perfectly fits the context in which it is inserted in the Arithmetica, entails that Diophantus' text contained no (implicit) reference to Euclid's Elements. The clause containing the adjective turns out to be a later interpolation, that cannot be used to support any algebraic interpretation of the Arithmetica.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Article
Christianidisa, Jean;
Oaks, Jeffrey;
(2013)
Practicing Algebra in Late Antiquity: The Problem-Solving of Diophantus of Alexandria
(/isis/citation/CBB001211810/)
Article
Thomaidis, Yannis;
(2005)
A Framework for Defining the Generality of Diophantos' Methods in “Arithmetica”
(/isis/citation/CBB000740272/)
Article
Thomaidis, Yannis;
(2011)
Some Remarks on the Meaning of Equality in Diophantos's Arithmetica
(/isis/citation/CBB001022169/)
Article
Yuste, Piedad;
(2008)
Ecuaciones cuadráticas y procedimientos algorítmicos. Diofanto y las matemáticas en Mesopotamia
(/isis/citation/CBB000933627/)
Chapter
Meskens, Ad;
(2007)
Reading Diophantos
(/isis/citation/CBB001000276/)
Article
Le Meur, Guy;
(2012)
Le rôle des diagrammes dans quelques traités de la Petite astronomie
(/isis/citation/CBB001211449/)
Article
Christianidis, Jean;
Skoura, Ioanna;
(2013)
Solving Problems by Algebra in Late Antiquity: New Evidence from an Unpublished Fragment of Theon's Commentary on the Almagest
(/isis/citation/CBB001421131/)
Article
Amini, Hasan;
(2013)
Spherical Interpretation of Plane Geometry in Menelaus of Alexandria's Sphaerica
(/isis/citation/CBB001510295/)
Article
Barner, Klaus;
(2007)
Negative Größen bei Diophant? Teil I
(/isis/citation/CBB000780189/)
Article
Reich, Karin;
(2003)
Die Rezeption Diophants im 16. Jahrhundert
(/isis/citation/CBB000501749/)
Article
Phili, Christine;
(2002)
Gepatiia: Zhertva konflikta mezhdu starym i novym mirom
(/isis/citation/CBB000202994/)
Article
Bernard, Alain;
Christianidis, Jean;
(2012)
A New Analytical Framework for the Understanding of Diophantus's Arithmetica I--III
(/isis/citation/CBB001220401/)
Article
Christianidis, Jean;
(2007)
The Way of Diophantus: Some Clarifications on Diophantus' Method of Solution
(/isis/citation/CBB000772444/)
Article
Høyrup, Jens;
(2001)
On a Collection of Geometrical Riddles and their Role in the Shaping of Four to Six “Algebras”
(/isis/citation/CBB000102557/)
Article
Vincenzo De Risi;
(2021)
Euclid’s Common Notions and the Theory of Equivalence
(/isis/citation/CBB348431913/)
Article
Webster, Colin;
(2014)
Euclid's Optics and Geometrical Astronomy
(/isis/citation/CBB001451440/)
Book
Euclid, ;
Taisbak, Christian Marinus;
(2003)
Dedomena---Euclid's Data, or, The Importance of Being Given
(/isis/citation/CBB000301663/)
Book
Tóth, Imre;
(2010)
Fragmente und Spuren nichteuklidischer Geometrie bei Aristoteles
(/isis/citation/CBB001420976/)
Thesis
Stevens, Paul Anthony;
(2008)
Mathematics and Dialectic in Plato's “Theaetetus”
(/isis/citation/CBB001560568/)
Book
Suppes, Patrick;
Moravcsik, Julius M.;
Mendell, Henry;
(2000)
Ancient & Medieval Traditions in the Exact Sciences: Essays in Memory of Wilbur Knorr
(/isis/citation/CBB000101823/)
Be the first to comment!