Hermeneutics of differential calculus in eighteenth-century northern Germany.
This paper applies comparative textbook analysis to studying the mathematical development of differential calculus in northern German states during the eighteenth century. It begins with describing how the four textbooks analyzed presented the foundations of calculus and continues with assessing the influence each of these foundational approaches exerted on the resolution of problems, such as the determination of tangents and extreme values, and even on the choice of coordinates for both algebraic and transcendental curves.
Blanco
Mónica
M
Departament de Matemática Aplicada III, Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya, Edifici ESAB, Campus del Baix Llobregat, Avinguda del Canal Olímpic, 15, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain. monica.blanco@upc.edu