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Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th CenturiesPolycephalic Euclid? Collective Practices in Bourbaki’s History of Mathematics

Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries: Polycephalic Euclid? Collective... [In this paper, we argue that Bourbaki’s historiography, which has been extremely influential among mathematicians and historians of mathematics alike, reflected the special conditions of its elaboration. More specifically, we investigate the way in which the collective writing practices of the members of the BourbakiBourbaki, Nicolas group in both mathematics and the history of mathematics help to explain the particular form taken by the Elements of the History of Mathematics (1960). At first sight, this book, which has been seen as an “internalist history of concepts,” may seem an unlikely candidate for exhibiting collective aspects of mathematical practice. As we show, historical considerations indeed stood low on the group’s agenda, but they nevertheless were crucial in the conception of some parts of the mathematical treatise. We moreover claim that tensions between individuals and notions related to a collective understanding of mathematics, such as “Zeitgeist” and “mathematical schools,” in fact structured Bourbaki’sBourbaki, Nicolas historiography.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th CenturiesPolycephalic Euclid? Collective Practices in Bourbaki’s History of Mathematics

Part of the Trends in the History of Science Book Series
Editors: Remmert, Volker R.; Schneider, Martina R.; Kragh Sørensen, Henrik
Paumier, Anne-Sandrine; Aubin, David
Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries — Dec 9, 2016
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References (70)

Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
ISBN
978-3-319-39647-7
Pages
185 –218
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-39649-1_10
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[In this paper, we argue that Bourbaki’s historiography, which has been extremely influential among mathematicians and historians of mathematics alike, reflected the special conditions of its elaboration. More specifically, we investigate the way in which the collective writing practices of the members of the BourbakiBourbaki, Nicolas group in both mathematics and the history of mathematics help to explain the particular form taken by the Elements of the History of Mathematics (1960). At first sight, this book, which has been seen as an “internalist history of concepts,” may seem an unlikely candidate for exhibiting collective aspects of mathematical practice. As we show, historical considerations indeed stood low on the group’s agenda, but they nevertheless were crucial in the conception of some parts of the mathematical treatise. We moreover claim that tensions between individuals and notions related to a collective understanding of mathematics, such as “Zeitgeist” and “mathematical schools,” in fact structured Bourbaki’sBourbaki, Nicolas historiography.]

Published: Dec 9, 2016

Keywords: Bourbaki; Mathematical schools; Collective practices of mathematicians; Historiography of mathematics

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