An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

Bertrand A. W. Russell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0331607328 ISBN 13: 9780331607321

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Delve into how geometry finds its foundations across logic, psychology, and mathematics.

This rigorous study traces the growth of metageometry and its impact on how we understand space, distance, and shape.

Bertrand A. W. Russell’s work blends history, philosophy, and technical insight. It surveys early questions about the nature of space, explores non‑Euclidean ideas, and analyzes how projective and metrical geometry interrelate. The text draws on lectures and scholarly correspondence to map a complex debate about what geometry can claim to prove and what it must assume.

• How metageometry emerged in three creative periods and what each period sought to show about parallels and space
• Connections between geometry, logic, and psychology, including Kant’s and Lotze’s views
• Critical examinations of notable theories and the role of axioms in geometric reasoning
• Arguments about space as subjective, objective, or something in between, and their implications for geometry

Ideal for readers of philosophy of mathematics, logic, and the foundations of geometry who want a careful, historically grounded analysis.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0331607328
• ISBN 13: 9780331607321
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 217