Leibniz's syncategorematic infinitesimals (Q363509): Difference between revisions

The author shows that Leibniz's mature interpretation of the calculus was fully in accord with the Archimedean axiom: infinitesimals stand for variable finite quantities that can be taken as small as desired (syncategorematic infinitesimals) (Section 2 of the paper). But the author explains much more than this well-known fact: He compares Leibniz's infinitesimals with those of Bell's smooth infinitesimal analysis (SIA) published in 1998. Hence, in Section 3, he gives a brief synopsis of SIA. Both notions of infinitesimals use non-punctiform infinitesimals and the resolution of curves into infinite-sided polygons. The Leibnizian polygonal representation of curves is closely related to Bell's principle of microstraightness. Yet, there are crucial differences. They are dealt with in Sections 4 and 5. To that end, the author applies these different notions to demonstrate some propositions of Newton's \textit{Principia}. In particular, he studies Leibniz's second-order differentials. Leibniz is entitled to them under the fiction that they are infinitely small quantities, too, provided an independent variable is identified.