The notion of variable quantities in Bolzano's early works

The paper is devoted to a discussion of the notion of variable quantities \(\omega\) introduced by Bolzano in his 1816 work in the debate on infinitesimals. The author's aim is to explore Bolzano's early mathematical works and diaries in order to gain insight into the subtleties of his definition of \(\omega\) and some of his mathematical procedures. It is shown that there were intrinsic tensions to Bolzano's notion of \(\omega\) that would be alien to the Weierstrassian \(\varepsilon\) and ultimately to the modern notion of number. Bolzano's early mathematical works should be considered as reflecting a transition to the modern conception of number.

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