Definite values of infinite sums: Aspects of the foundations of infinitesimal analysis around 1820 (Q1203005)

This article contains a collection of topics on the foundations of calculus as laid down by Euler in the eighteenth century and refined by the French mathematicians in the early nineteenth century. The topics are considered from a philosophical point of view, with emphasis on the issues involved in the use of infinitesimals and defining the concept of limit. Comparisons between Euler's treatment of a topic in the eighteenth century and Cauchy's treatment of those same topics 75 or 100 years later are particularly interesting and enlightening.