THE MATHEMATICS OF PLATO'S ACADEMY by D.H. Fowler ( 9780198539476 )

Item Details

Title:

THE MATHEMATICS OF PLATO'S ACADEMY
A NEW RECONSTRUCTION

By:

D.H. Fowler

Format:

Paperback

List price:

£125.00

Our price:

£109.38

Discount:

12.5% off

You save:

£15.62

ISBN 10:

0198539479

ISBN 13:

9780198539476

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Publisher:

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pages:

432

Description:

Ancient sources tell us of Plato's zeal for mathematics, but the problem of interpreting many of the mathematical references in his Dialogues has perplexed later commentators. Part One of this book presents several new interpretations of the ideas of ratio in early Greek mathematics, and illustrates them in detailed discussions of several texts. Part two discusses questions concerning Plato's Academy and Part Three contrasts some of the evidence from early and lateantiquity and then gives an historical account of the development of continued fractions from the seventeenth century.

Synopsis:

This book presents a radically new interpretation of early Greek mathematics; its central theme is a mathematical and historical exploration of several different ways of characterizing ratio. To set the reconstruction in context, David Fowler describes both how early Greeks wrote and how their writings have then been transmitted to us. This leads to descriptions of taxation and land-measurement in the Greek administration of Egypt, of the development of continued fractions from the seventeenth century, including a recent algorithm for arithmetic with continued fractions, and many other topics.

Illustrations:

colour frontispiece, 8 halftones, line drawings and tables throughout

Publication:

Imprint:

Clarendon Press

Returns:

Returnable

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THE MATHEMATICS OF PLATO'S ACADEMY (HB)