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More About This Textbook
Overview
In 1655, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes claimed he had solved the centuries-old problem of "squaring of the circle" (constructing a square equal in area to a given circle). With a scathing rebuttal to Hobbes's claims, the mathematician John Wallis began one of the longest and most intense intellectual disputes of all time. Squaring the Circle is a detailed account of this controversy, from the core mathematics to the broader philosophical, political, and religious issues at stake.
Hobbes believed that by recasting geometry in a materialist mold, he could solve any geometric problem and thereby demonstrate the power of his materialist metaphysics. Wallis, a prominent Presbyterian divine as well as an eminent mathematician, refuted Hobbes's geometry as a means of discrediting his philosophy, which Wallis saw as a dangerous mix of atheism and pernicious political theory.
Hobbes and Wallis's "battle of the books" illuminates the intimate relationship between science and crucial seventeenth-century debates over the limits of sovereign power and the existence of God.
Editorial Reviews
Booknews
The dispute between British philosophers Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Wallis (1616-1703) began with technical issues in mathematics, explains Jeseph (philosophy, North Carolina State U.) but grew to encompass questions of theology, philology, politics, and the very nature of reason. He examines such aspects as the mathematical career of the monster of Malmesbury, the reform of mathematics and of the universities, disputed foundations, the demise of Hobbesian geometry, and persistence in error. He appends selections from Hobbes mathematical writings. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)Product Details
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Table of Contents
Preface List of Abbreviations Chapter One: The Mathematical Career of the Monster of Malmesbury Chapter Two: The Reform of Mathematics and of the Universities Ideological Origins of the Dispute Chapter Three: De Corpore and the Mathematics of Materialism Chapter Four: Disputed Foundations Hobbes vs. Wallis on the Philosophy of Mathematics Chapter Five: The "Modern Analytics" and the Nature of Demonstration Chapter Six: The Demise of Hobbesian Geometry Chapter Seven: The Religion, Rhetoric, and Politics of Mr. Hobbes and Dr. Wallis Chapter Eight: Persistence in Error Why Was Hobbes So Resolutely Wrong?
Appendix: Selections from Hobbes's Mathematical Writings References Index