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Squaring the Circle The War between Hobbes and Wallis Science and Its Conceptual Foundations seri
by [Jesseph, Douglas M.]
$59.73
Description
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.
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Product Details
- University of Chicago Pre Brand
- Jan 1, 2000 Pub Date:
- 9780226399003 ISBN-13:
- 0226399001 ISBN-10:
- 433.0 pages Paperback
- English Language
- 0.95 in * 6.04 in * 9 in Dimensions:
- 1 lb Weight:
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