The Elizabethan mathematics of everything: John Dee's ‘Mathematicall praeface’ to Euclid's<i>Elements</i>

Rampling, Jennifer M.

doi:10.1080/17498430.2011.580136

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…As it was common during the 18 th century (MASSA-ESTEVE; ROCA-ROSELL; PUIG-PLA, 2011), Tosca makes a clear distinction between what we would call today pure and applied mathematics, but he makes a clear stress on practical applications introducing natural philosophy under the explicit mention of physico-mathematical disciplines. This stress coincides, for instance, with information contained in Dee's praeface (RAMPLING, 2011). In addition, it is interesting to observe that the formative value of mathematics is also stated in the analysed text, just like in Euler's work, when he claims (BARROW-GREEN, 2010) that learning arithmetic is a good way for teaching correct thinking.…”

Section: Gnosiologysupporting

confidence: 62%

“…Vitrac (2008) presents a detailed analysis of prefaces in ancient Greek Mathematical texts. Although it was not the preface to his own text, Rampling (2011) analyzes ISSN 1980-4415 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980 John Dee's 'Mathematicall praeface' to Euclid's Elements. Christiansen (2015) shows the contextual and didactical information that can be found in prefaces examining a Norwegian 19th century arithmetic textbook.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conceptions about mathematics, its teaching and learning in Compendio Mathematico (1707) written by the Spanish Thomas Vicente Tosca (1651-1723)

Oller-Marcén¹,

Escolano

2019

Bolema

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The preface of a book is one of the main examples of paratexts, defined by Gérard Genette as those devices and conventions that enable a text to become a book. It can provide information about aspects such as the author's motivation and intention, the origin of the presented ideas, the potential readers, etc. In the particular case of a mathematical text devoted to some extent to teaching, the preface can provide information about the author's conceptions and beliefs about mathematics, its teaching and learning. In this work, we analyze the preface of Compendio Mathematico written by Thomas Vicente Tosca in 1707. This approach will allow us to have a view of how the teaching and learning of mathematics as well as mathematics itself were conceived during Spanish preenlightenment.

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Section: Gnosiologysupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptions about mathematics, its teaching and learning in Compendio Mathematico (1707) written by the Spanish Thomas Vicente Tosca (1651-1723)

Oller-Marcén¹,

Escolano

2019

Bolema

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Mathematics and Technology Before the Modern Era

Hansson

2018

Philosophy of Engineering and Technology

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Geometry and the Gods: Theurgy in Proclus’s Commentary on the First Book of Euclid’s Elements

Goulding

2022

Perspectives on Science

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Proclus’s Commentary on the first book of Euclid’s Elements contains one of the most important discussions of the nature of mathematical objects, and preserves a wealth of historical information about mathematics from antiquity. However, large sections of the text have been neglected by scholars since the text’s first publication in the sixteenth century. Proclus expounds at length on correspondences between mathematical objects and the gods. At times he uses the language of “theurgy,” the ritual practices that later Neoplatonists insisted were necessary for the human soul to ascend to the intelligibles. The contention of this article is that the Commentary, taken as a whole, concerns the practice of “inner theurgy,” mental rituals used by advanced students to raise the soul beyond its assigned bounds. This practice can be traced back to Plotinus and the very beginnings of Neoplatonism; however, the particular methods presented by Proclus are his own development. This interpretation of the Commentary is supported by Proclus’s Commentary on the Parmenides and his Platonic Theology. Parts of the Commentary that have been studied carefully by modern scholars, especially the theory of the mathematical phantasia or imagination, will be shown to be crucial elements in Proclus’s theory and practice of inner theurgy.

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The Elizabethan mathematics of everything: John Dee's ‘Mathematicall praeface’ to Euclid'sElements

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Conceptions about mathematics, its teaching and learning in Compendio Mathematico (1707) written by the Spanish Thomas Vicente Tosca (1651-1723)

Conceptions about mathematics, its teaching and learning in Compendio Mathematico (1707) written by the Spanish Thomas Vicente Tosca (1651-1723)

Mathematics and Technology Before the Modern Era

Geometry and the Gods: Theurgy in Proclus’s Commentary on the First Book of Euclid’s Elements

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