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Rigor and Clarity: Foundations of Mathematics in France and England, 1800–1840

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Joan L. Richards
Joan L. Richards
Affiliation:
History DepartmentBrown University
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Abstract

It has long been apparent that in the nineteenth century, mathematics in France and England developed along different lines. The differences, which might well be labelled stylistic, are most easy to see on the foundational level. At first this may seem surprising because it is such a fundamental area, but, upon reflection, it is to be expected. Ultimately discussions about the foundations of mathematics turn on views about what mathematics is, and this is a question which is answered by a variety of different groups including mathematicians, students, curricular planners, parents, etc. Mathematical practice rests on some kind of mixture of the answers to this fundamental question which come from these diverse groups. Comparing the cultural matrices which supported mathematics in France and Britain in the first decades of the nineteenth century sheds light on the real though often subtle differences in the ways the subject was pursued in the two countries.

Type
Article
Information
Science in Context , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , Autumn 1991 , pp. 297 - 319
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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