The Origin and Significance of Zero: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

by Peter Gobets (Other), Robert Lawrence Kuhn (Other)

Overview

Zero has been axial in human development, but the origin and discovery of zero has never been satisfactorily addressed by a comprehensive, systematic and above all interdisciplinary research program. In this volume, over 40 international scholars explore zero under four broad themes: history; religion, philosophy & linguistics; arts; and mathematics & the sciences. Some propose that the invention/discovery of zero may have been facilitated by the prior evolution of a sophisticated concept of Nothingness or Emptiness (as it is understood in non-European traditions); and conversely, inhibited by the absence of, or aversion to, such a concept of Nothingness in the West. But not all scholars agree. Join the debate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789004691551
Publisher:	Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/25/2024
Series:	Value Inquiry Book , #395
Pages:	788
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.36(h) x 1.81(d)

About the Author

Peter Gobets is an independent researcher, specializing in philosophy, linguistics and the history of science and mathematics. He has authored three books including a philosophical novel. In the early 1990s, he drafted the original Zero Project, formally launched in 2015.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn (B.A., S.M., Ph.D.) is creator and host of Closer To Truth (science and philosophy, TV and web). He has written or edited over thirty books, chairs The Kuhn Foundation, and received the China Reform Friendship Medal.

Table of Contents

Contents
Foreword
 Valdis Segliņš

Preface
 Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables
Notes on Contributors

Introduction
 Peter Gobets


Introduction to Part 0

1 Viewing the Zero as a Part of Cross-cultural Intellectual Heritage
 Bhaswati Bhattacharya

2 Connecting Zeros
 Mayank N. Vahia

3 Babylonian Zeros
 Jim Ritter

4 Aspects of Zero in Ancient Egypt
 Friedhelm Hoffmann

5 The Zero Concept in Ancient Egypt
 Beatrice Lumpkin

6 On the Placeholder in Numeration and the Numeral Zero in China
 Célestin Xiaohan Zhou

7 Reflections on Early Dated Inscriptions from South India
 T. S. Ravishankar

8 From Śūnya to Zero – an Enigmatic Odyssey
 Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay

9 The Significance of Zero in Jaina Mathematics
 Anupam Jain

10 Notes on the Origin of the First Definition of Zero Consistent with Basic Physical Laws
 Jonathan J. Crabtree

11 Putting a Price on Zero
 Manil Suri

12 Revisiting Khmer Stele K-127
 Debra G. Aczel, Solang Uk and Hab Touch

13 The Medieval Arabic Zero
 Jeffrey A. Oaks

14 Numeration in the Scientific Manuscripts of the Maghreb
 Djamil Aïssani

15 The Zero Triumphant: Allegory, Emptiness and the Early History of the Tarot
 Esther Freinkel Tishman


Introduction to Part 1

16 On the Semiotics of Zero
 Brian Rotman

17 Nought Matters: the History and Philosophy of Zero
 Paul Ernest

18 The Influence of Buddhism on the Invention and Development of Zero
 Alexis Lavis

19 Zero and Śūnyatā: Likely Bedfellows
 Fabio Gironi

20 Indian Origin of Zero
 Ravi Prakash Arya

21 A Philosophical Origin of the Mathematical Zero
 Sudip Bhattacharyya

22 Category Theory and the Ontology of Śūnyata
 Sisir Roy and Rayudu Posina

23 Zero: an Integrative Spiritual Perspective with One and Infinity
 Sharda S. Nandram, Puneet K. Bindlish, Ankur Joshi and Vishwanath Dhital

24 Challenges in Interpreting the Invention of Zero
 Kaspars Klavins

25 Some More Unsystematic Notes on Śūnya
 Alberto Pelissero

26 Much Ado about Nothing or, How Much Philosophy Is Required to Invent the Number Zero?
 Johannes Bronkhorst

27 From Emptiness to Nonsense: the Constitution of the Number Zero (for Non-mathematicians)
 Erik Hoogcarspel

28 The Fear of Nothingness
 John Marmysz

29 The Concept of Naught in Jewish Tradition
 Esti Eisenmann

30 How Does Tom Tillemans Think?
 Erik Hoogcarspel

31 Overhauling the Prevailing Worldview: an Essay
 Peter Gobets


Introduction to Part 2

32 Selected Works by Anish Kapoor
 Peter Gobets


Introduction to Part 3

33 The Unique Significance of Zero in Thinking: a Sense of ‘Nothing’
 Andreas Nieder

34 Can We Divide by Zero?
 Marina Ville

35 Division by Zero (khahara) in Indian Mathematics
 Avinash Sathaye

36 Zero: in Various Forms
 Mayank N. Vahia and Upsana Neogi

37 Nothing, Zeno Paradoxes and Quantum Physics
 Marcis Auzinsh

38 The Significance to Physics of the Number Zero
 Joseph A. Biello and R. Samson

39 A World without Zero
 R. Samson

Epilogue
 Peter Gobets

Appendix 1: Expertise Center on Zero Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
Appendix 2: Online Presentations
Appendix 3: Status Update/Petition on the Bakhshali Manuscript
Index

Editorial Reviews

…a fascinating interdisciplinary expedition to unearth zero’s best-kept secrets.”
— Professor Max Tegmark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

“Zero has been central to battles in mathematics, in philosophy, in religion, and in the sciences.”
— Professor John Leslie, University of Guelph, Canada

From the Publisher