Changes of Language in the Development of Mathematics (Q4487033)

The author reconstructs the development of mathematics as a development of mathematical language, regarding not only the symbolic language of arithmetic, but also the iconic one of geometry. Pictures as used in some geometries are not mere heuristic aids, but parts of the theories themselves. ``We understand the picture as an expression (a term) of the iconic language with its own meaning and reference'' (p.\ 48), and the iconic language as being capable of being treated with the same strength and precision as the one Frege introduced for arithmetic (ibid.). The development of the language of mathematics is studied focusing on the following six aspects: logical power, expressive power, explanatory power, integrative power, logical boundaries, and expressive boundaries. This programme is applied to the domains of Elementary Arithmetic, Synthetic Geometry, Algebra, Analytic Geometry, the Differential and Integral Calculus, Iterative Geometry, the Predicate Calculus, and Set Theory. In concluding the author maintains that the succession of the eight formal languages typical for the mentioned domains represents seven ruptures ``which consisted in the disclosing of a new universe'' (p.\ 80). Four of them were connected with the construction of a new iconic language, the other three with a new symbolic language.