The rectification of quadratures as a central foundational problem for the early Leibnizian calculus (Q714044)

In the late 17th century it was well known (thanks to Heuraet) how to reduce rectifications to quadratures. However, mathematicians around Leibniz working on the development of the calculus sometimes preferred to formulate the solution of a problem in terms of rectifications instead of quadratures. The reasons were practical feasability (the length of a curve can be measured by using a thread) as well as the abstract idea that lower dimensions are simpler than higher ones. In the present paper it is studied how these (and other) ``extramathematical'' ideas shaped early modern mathematics. In particular, the author develops a terminological framework in order to explain the function and influence of such ideas. In order to demonstrate how much Leibniz's research was driven by the attempt to reduce quadratures to rectifications, the author proposes a hypothetical reconstruction of Leibniz's reaction to a letter of Newton from October 1693. He argues that the problems considered in Leibniz's envelope paper \textit{Nova calculi differentialis applicatio} from 1694 were motivated by this letter, in which Newton presents a general method via envelopes of families of lines to transform quadrature problems into rectification problems. Of course, such a speculation is risky, particularly in view of Leibniz's abundant (and so far only partially published) letters and papers, which often allow to trace the development of his thought. \textit{M. Parmentier} [La naissance du calcul différentiel. Paris: Vrin (1989), pp. 268--271] pointed out that some of the problems discussed in Leibniz's envelope paper already came up in Leibniz's correspondence with L'Hospital in early 1693. The draft of the paper, which is still extant in the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Bibliothek Hannover (shelfmarks LH 35,6,17 and LH 35,13,3 f.~12), shows that it was originally the first part of a larger paper, whose second part was then expanded and published separately in September 1693 under the title \textit{Supplementum geometriae dimensoriae}. Why the publication of the first part was delayed and what changes were made in the meantime remains to be investigated. The author's thesis may well turn out right in a more restricted sense: Newton's letter may have motivated Leibniz to finally publish his paper -- perhaps out of fear that Newton had similar methods.