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Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th CenturiesOtto Neugebauer’s Vision for Rewriting the History of Ancient Mathematics

Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries: Otto Neugebauer’s Vision for... [Historians of mathematics have long exalted the achievements of the ancient Greeks as symbolized by a single name, EuclidEuclid of Alexandria. The thirteen books that comprise his Elements hold a place within Greek mathematics comparable to the Parthenon in its architectural tradition. Appreciation for Greek classicism was long reinforced by the formal ideal of Euclidean geometry, a style that persisted until well into the nineteenth century. Not until the early decades of the twentieth did a new picture of ancient mathematics emerge, advanced by the pioneering researches of Otto NeugebauerNeugebauer, Otto (1899-1990) on Egyptian and especially Mesopotamian mathematics. Although grounded in detailed analysis of primary sources, NeugebauerNeugebauer, Otto (1899-1990)’s work was guided by a broad vision of the exact sciences in ancient cultures that predated the Greeks. He thereby broke with the traditional Greco-centric understanding of European science. NeugebauerNeugebauer, Otto (1899-1990)’s historical views and methodological approach, which elevated mathematical techniques while diminishing the importance of philosophical commentary, came under strong attack after he immigrated to the United States in 1939.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th CenturiesOtto Neugebauer’s Vision for Rewriting the History of Ancient Mathematics

Part of the Trends in the History of Science Book Series
Editors: Remmert, Volker R.; Schneider, Martina R.; Kragh Sørensen, Henrik
Rowe, David E.
Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries — Dec 9, 2016
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Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
ISBN
978-3-319-39647-7
Pages
123 –141
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-39649-1_7
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Historians of mathematics have long exalted the achievements of the ancient Greeks as symbolized by a single name, EuclidEuclid of Alexandria. The thirteen books that comprise his Elements hold a place within Greek mathematics comparable to the Parthenon in its architectural tradition. Appreciation for Greek classicism was long reinforced by the formal ideal of Euclidean geometry, a style that persisted until well into the nineteenth century. Not until the early decades of the twentieth did a new picture of ancient mathematics emerge, advanced by the pioneering researches of Otto NeugebauerNeugebauer, Otto (1899-1990) on Egyptian and especially Mesopotamian mathematics. Although grounded in detailed analysis of primary sources, NeugebauerNeugebauer, Otto (1899-1990)’s work was guided by a broad vision of the exact sciences in ancient cultures that predated the Greeks. He thereby broke with the traditional Greco-centric understanding of European science. NeugebauerNeugebauer, Otto (1899-1990)’s historical views and methodological approach, which elevated mathematical techniques while diminishing the importance of philosophical commentary, came under strong attack after he immigrated to the United States in 1939.]

Published: Dec 9, 2016

Keywords: Greek mathematics; Historiography of ancient science; Göttingen mathematics; Geometric algebra; Pythagorean tradition

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