About this Item
Georg Cantor could be said to be one of the most important mathematicians of the modern era because of the work he did in the late nineteenth century in developing set theory. By this point, set theory is almost taken for granted and is considered a foundation for mathematics, full stop. And, indeed, at its very basics, set theory is almost intuitive, and has probably existed in one form or another for about as long as counting itself. But in the last three decades of the nineteenth century, Cantor started stretching the ideas of what sets are and could be beyond those basics, first by incorporating the ideas of real numbers, natural numbers, and abstract sets. Before long, this led to new ideas about infinite sets that other mathematicians found extremely challenging, even antithetical to mathematics itself. At the same time, such theories about infinity crossed over from the field of mathematics to the fields of philosophy and theology, of which Cantor was well aware. This book, "Georg Cantor: His Mathematics and Philosophy of the Infinite," deals with it all. Critics called it "useful and insightful" and "a valuable contribution to the history of modern mathematics." It is not quite a biography. Rather, Dauben himself says it "represents a study of the pulse, metabolism, even in part the psychodynamics of an intellectual process." We learn about Cantor s life as it is relevant to his mathematics, not about his mathematics as a sidelight to his life. There have been other books about Cantor before this, but Dauben s is the longest and most detailed. Is also seems to be the most accurate. For instance, one early, popular, and influential biographer stated that Cantor was Jewish, and some of the opposition he faced came from antisemitism. Dauben, on the other hand, demonstrates that Cantor was raised, and remained, a devout Danish Lutheran and his faith was an influence on the philosophical turn his mathematics took and what he felt the role of the mathematician to be. This is a rare first edition of Dauben s book, in hardback and in fine condition. There is light bumping on the top corners and top of the spine, and light rubbing on the bottom corners and bottom of the spine, but otherwise the binding is in flawless condition. The only mark on the interior is what appears to be a price stamped onto the upper right corner of the front free endpaper. Our copy does not include a dust jacket. However, what appears to be a clipping from the flap of the dust jacket that supplies a brief biography of Dauben has been inserted inside the front cover. Photos forthcoming or immediately on request.
Seller Inventory # 539
Contact seller
Report this item
