Article ID: CBB001221693

The Growth of Mathematical Knowledge---Introduction of Convex Bodies (2012)

unapi

The article addresses the topic of the growth of mathematical knowledge with a special focus on the question: How are mathematical objects introduced to mathematical practice? It takes as starting point a proposal made in a previous paper which is based on a case study on the introduction of Riemann surfaces. The claim is that (i) a new object first refers to previously accepted objects, and that (ii) reasoning is possible via a correspondence to the objects with reference to which it is introduced. In addition Riemann surfaces are geometrical objects, i.e., they are placed in a geometrical context, which makes new definitions possible. This proposal is tested on a case study on Minkowski's introduction of convex bodies. The conclusion is that the proposal holds also for this example. In both cases we notice that in a first stage is a close connection between the new object and the objects it is introduced with reference to, and that in a later stage, the new object is given an independent definition. Even though the two cases display similarity in these respects, we also point to certain differences between the cases in the process of the first stage. Overall we notice the fruitfulness of representing problems in different contexts.

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Description A case study on Minkowski's introduction of convex bodies.


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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001221693/

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Authors & Contributors
Kieldsen, Tinne Hoff
Gray, Jeremy
Haffner, Emmylou
Casolo, Carlo
Giannini, Giulia
Lorenat, Jemma
Journals
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
Science in Context
Revue d'Histoire des Mathématiques
Kexue Jishu Zhexue Yanjiu (Studies in Philosophy of Science and Technology)
Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences
History and Philosophy of Logic
Publishers
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin
University of Montana
UTET
The MIT Press
Lang
Guaraldi
Concepts
Mathematics
Non-euclidean geometry
Geometry
Philosophy of mathematics
Algebraic geometry
Number theory; number concept
People
Minkowski, Hermann
Bolyai, Janos (Johann) von
Gauss, Carl Friedrich
Poincaré, Jules Henri
Riemann, Georg Friedrich Bernhard
Lobachevskii, Nikolai Ivanovich
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
18th century
Places
United States
Norway
Europe
Institutions
University of Chicago
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