No label defined (Q4394889)

According to Aristoteles, science is based on four postulates. The idea of postulates became very important, when, starting at about 1600, the new science was developed. Newton's principia, for example, have to be seen in close connection with Euclid's elements, both are based on axioms and postulates. But there also existed an alternative methodology which was not based on axioms. Lazare Carnot for example introduced such an alternative method in his ``Géométrie de position'' (1803). His geometry was based on some fundamental notions, derived from elementary geometry. Then, a fundamental problem allowed to construct the rest of the geometry. Carnot's geometry of position made no use of negative quantities or coordinates. This was the so-called synthetic method. In a similar way Carnot had tried earlier to approach mechanics (1783) and analysis (1797). Also N. Lobachevskij made no use of axioms in his ``Geometrical studies of the theory of parallels'' (1840). His theory was based on the fundamental problem: there are given a line and a point which is not on it. The question is, how many lines can be drawn through the point which don't intersect the given line. Indeed, Lobachevskij succeeded in deriving non-Euclidean geometries out of this one problem. In a similar way F. Klein was successful in his ``Erlanger Programm'' (1872). Klein's general principle does not mean axiom, but something like special consideration or methodological principle: it is the concept of transformation group. According to Klein every geometry is based on a certain group. The question then consists in setting up the invariants of the group. Indeed, the word principle was used in a double sense, sometimes meaning axiom, sometimes meaning methodological principle. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0882.00029].