Umberto Bottazini - Böcker

"The true method of foreseeing the future of mathematics is to study its history and its actual state." With these words Henri Poincare began his presentation to the Fourth International Congress of Mathematicians at Rome in 1908. Although Poincare himself never actively pursued the history of mathematics, his remarks have given both historians of mathematics and working mathematicians a valuable methodological guideline, not so much for indulging in improbable prophecies about the future state of mathematics, as for finding in history the origins and moti va tions of contemporary theories, and for finding in the present the most fruitful statements of these theories. At the time Poincare spoke, at the beginning of this century, historical research in the various branches of rna thema tics was emerging with distinctive autonomy. In Germany the last volume of Cantor's monumental Vorlesungell iiber die Gesehiehte der Mathematik had just appeared, and many new specialized journals were appearing to complement those already in existence, from Enestrom's Bibliotheea mathematiea to Loria's Bollettino di bibliogra/ia e di storia delle seienze matematiehe.The annual Jahresberiehte of the German Mathematical Society included noteworthy papers of a historical nature, as did the Enzyklopadie der mathematisehen Wissenseha/ten, an imposing work constructed according to the plan of Felix Klein.

This book focuses on some of the major developments in the history of contemporary (19th and 20th century) mathematics as seen in the broader context of the development of science and culture. Avoiding technicalities, it displays the breadth of contrasting images of mathematics favoured by different countries, schools and historical movements, showing how the conception and practice of mathematics changed over time depending on the cultural and national context. Thus it provides an original perspective for embracing the richness and variety inherent in the development of mathematics. Attention is paid to the interaction of mathematics with themes whose proper treatment have been neglected by the traditional historiography of the discipline, such as the relationship between mathematics, statistics and medicine.

This book focuses on some of the major developments in the history of contemporary (19th and 20th century) mathematics as seen in the broader context of the development of science and culture. Avoiding technicalities, it displays the breadth of contrasting images of mathematics favoured by different countries, schools and historical movements, showing how the conception and practice of mathematics changed over time depending on the cultural and national context. Thus it provides an original perspective for embracing the richness and variety inherent in the development of mathematics. Attention is paid to the interaction of mathematics with themes whose proper treatment have been neglected by the traditional historiography of the discipline, such as the relationship between mathematics, statistics and medicine.