The Geometry of Rene Descartes (Cosimo Classics) - Softcover

Descartes, Rene

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1602066914 ISBN 13: 9781602066915

Publisher: Cosimo Inc, 2007

Synopsis

First published in English in 1925, The Geometry of Rene Descartes brings to audiences one of the most revolutionary works in mathematics since Euclid. Descartes changed the field of mathematics with his invention of analytic geometry. He loved Euclid, because Euclidean geometry offered truth and certainty, and all of its conclusions were drawn from irrefutable axioms.

Descartes wanted to have this kind of certainty in all areas of life, and so he sought to answer questions about the real world using algebra combined with geometry. This produced the Cartesian plane, which suddenly allowed equations to be graphed. It was a revolution.

In this book, mathematicians can follow a true genius as he explains his mathematical principles and truths.

New York lawyer and mathematician DAVID EUGENE SMITH (1860-1944) authored a number of books while a professor of mathematics at Columbia University, including The Teaching of Elementary Mathematics (1900), A History of Japanese Mathematics (1914), and History of Modern Mathematics (1896).

About this title

From the Back Cover

This is an unabridged republication of the definitive English translation of one of the very greatest classics of science. Originally published in 1637, it has been characterized as "the greatest single step ever made in the progress of the exact sciences" (John Stuart Mill); as a book which "remade geometry and made modern geometry possible" (Eric Temple Bell). It "revolutionized the entire conception of the object of mathematical science" (J. Hadamard).With this volume Descartes founded modern analytical geometry. Reducing geometry to algebra and analysis and, conversely, showing that analysis may be translated into geometry, it opened the way for modern mathematics. Descartes was the first to classify curves systematically and to demonstrate algebraic solution of geometric curves. His geometric interpretation of negative quantities led to later concepts of continuity and the theory of function. The third book contains important contributions to the theory of equations.This edition contains the entire definitive Smith-Latham translation of Descartes' three books: Problems the Construction of which Requires Only Straight Lines and Circles; On the Nature of Curved Lines; and On the Construction of Solid and Supersolid Problems. Interleaved page by page with the translation is a complete facsimile of the 1637 French text, together with all Descartes' original illustrations; 248 footnotes explain the text and add further bibliography.
Translated by David E. Smith and Marcia L. Latham.

About the Author

Ren? Descartes, known as the Father of Modern Philosophy and inventor of Cartesian coordinates, was a seventeenth century French philosopher, mathematician, and writer. Descartes made significant contributions to the fields of philosophy and mathematics, and was a proponent of rationalism, believing strongly in fact and deductive reasoning. Working in both French and Latin, he wrote many mathematical and philosophical works including The World, Discourse on a Method, Meditations on First Philosophy, and Passions of the Soul. He is perhaps best known for originating the statement I think, therefore I am.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cosimo Inc
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1602066914
• ISBN 13: 9781602066915
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 246