The Mathematical Career of Pierre de Fermat, 1601-1665: Second Edition

Michael Sean Mahoney

Published by Princeton University Press 1973

The Mathematical Career of Pierre de Fermat, 1601-1665

Second Edition

Michael Sean Mahoney

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691187631

Overview
Contents

About this book

Hailed as one of the greatest mathematical results of the twentieth century, the recent proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by Andrew Wiles brought to public attention the enigmatic problem-solver Pierre de Fermat, who centuries ago stated his famous conjecture in a margin of a book, writing that he did not have enough room to show his "truly marvelous demonstration." Along with formulating this proposition--xn+yn=zn has no rational solution for n > 2--Fermat, an inventor of analytic geometry, also laid the foundations of differential and integral calculus, established, together with Pascal, the conceptual guidelines of the theory of probability, and created modern number theory. In one of the first full-length investigations of Fermat's life and work, Michael Sean Mahoney provides rare insight into the mathematical genius of a hobbyist who never sought to publish his work, yet who ranked with his contemporaries Pascal and Descartes in shaping the course of modern mathematics.

Author / Editor information

Michael Sean Mahoney is Professor of History at Princeton University.

Reviews

Mahoney's sensitive handling of the material, his sharp appreciation of conceptual and notational subtleties, and his willingness to detail or reconstruct proofs and procedures, now make possible an appreciation of the real power and variety of Fermat's invention.---Alan Gabbey, British Journal for the History of Science

A remarkably satisfying and cogent analysis.---Carl B. Boyer, Science

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
PREFACE (1994) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
INTRODUCTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xvii
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xx
CHAPTER I. The Personal Touch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
CHAPTER II. Nullum Non Problema Solvere: Viete's Analytic Program And Its Influence On Fermat Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	26
CHAPTER III. The Royal Road Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
CHAPTER IV. Fashioning One's Own Luck Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
CHAPTER V. Archimedes and the Theory of Equations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	214
CHAPTER VI. Between Traditions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	283
EPILOGUE: Fermat in Retrospect Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	361
APPENDIX I: Sidelights on a Mathematical Career Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	368
APPENDIX II: Bibliographical Essay and Chronological Conspectus of Fermat's Works Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	411
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	425

Language: English
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Copyright year: 1973
Audience: Professional and scholarly;College/higher education;

eBook

Published: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 9780691187631