A Cultural History of Mathematics in the Eighteenth Century

A Cultural History of Mathematics in the Eighteenth Century covers the period from 1687 to 1800. Advances in the use of calculus opened up both nature and society to mathematical analysis, while mathematical skills became increasingly valuable in ongoing power struggles between nation-states. This redefined the role of mathematics in many professional occupations, encouraging greater numerical literacy and better mathematical education. Building on advances in both analysis and physics, mathematics helped shape the ideas of the Enlightenment.

The six volume set of the Cultural History of Mathematics explores the value and impact of mathematics in human culture from antiquity to the present. The themes covered in each volume are everyday numeracy; practice and profession; inventing mathematics; mathematics and worldviews; describing and understanding the world; mathematics and technological change; representing mathematics.

Maarten Bullynckis Associate Professor of Mathematics and History of Science at the University of Paris 8, France.

Volume 4 in the Cultural History of Mathematics set. General Editors: David E. Rowe, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, and Joseph W. Dauben, City University of New York, USA.