Starred Review。 What Aczel did for mathematician Fermat
(Fermat’s Last Theorem)he now does for Descartes in this splendid
study about the French philosopher and mathematician (1596–1650)
most famous for his paradigm-smashing declaration, “I think;
therefore, I am。” Part historical sketch, part biography and part
detective story, Aczel’s chronicle of Descartes’s hidden work
hinges on his lost secret notebook。 Of 16 pages of coded
manuscript, one and a half were copied in 1676 by fellow
philosopher and mathematician Leibniz。 For him, Descartes’s
inscription of the cryptic letters“GFRC” immediately revealed his
association with the occult fraternity of the Rosicrucians—Leibniz
was also a member。 The notebook also revealed to Leibniz a
discovery made by Descartes that would have transformed
mathematics。 As Aczel so deftly demonstrates, Descartes''s
mathematical theories were paths to an understanding the order and
mystery of the cosmos, and he kept the notebook hidden because it
contained a formula that—because it supported Copernicus’s model of
the solar system—Descartes feared would lead to his persecution by
the Inquisition。 Aczel lucidly explains the science, mystery and
mathematics of Descartes, who has never been so lively as he is in
the pages of this first-rate biography and social history。
作者简介:
Amir D.Aczel,Ph.D,is a mathematician and the author of twelve
books,including the international bestseller Fermat’s Last
Theorem,which was nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize and
has been translated into nineteen languages。Aczel has appeared on
over thirty television prgrams,including the CBS Evening News and
ABC’s Nightline,on CNN and CNBC,and on over a hundred radio
programs,including NPR’s Weekend Edition and Talk of the
Nation:Science Friday。In 2004 Aczel was awarded a Guggenheim
Fellowship。He is a visiting scholar in the history of science at
Harvard。
關於作者:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Prologue: Leibniz’s Search in Paris10
1:The Gardens of Touraine
2:Tesuit Mathematics and the Pleasures of the Capital
3:The Dutch Puzzle
4:Three Dream in an Oven by the Danube
5:The Athenians Are Vexed by a Persistent Ancient Plague
6:The Meeting with Faulhaber and the Battle of Prague
7:The Brotherhood
8:Swords at Sea and a Meeting in the Marais
9:Descartes and the Rosicrucians
10:Italian Creations
11:A Duel at Orleans,and the Siege of La Rochele
12:The Move to Holland and the Ghost of Galileo
13:ASecret Affair
14:Descartes’Philosophy and the Discourse on the Method
15:Descartes Understands the Ancient Delian Mystery
16:Princess Elizabeth
17:The Intrigues of Utrecht
18:The Call of the Queen
19: The Mysterious Death of Descartes
20:Leibniz’s Quest for Descartes’Secret
21:Leibniz Breaks Descartes’ Code and Solves the Mystery;A
Twenty-First-Century Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Index
目錄:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Prologue: Leibniz’s Search in Paris10
1:The Gardens of Touraine
2:Tesuit Mathematics and the Pleasures of the Capital
3:The Dutch Puzzle
4:Three Dream in an Oven by the Danube
5:The Athenians Are Vexed by a Persistent Ancient Plague
6:The Meeting with Faulhaber and the Battle of Prague
7:The Brotherhood
8:Swords at Sea and a Meeting in the Marais
9:Descartes and the Rosicrucians
10:Italian Creations
11:A Duel at Orleans,and the Siege of La Rochele
12:The Move to Holland and the Ghost of Galileo
13:ASecret Affair
14:Descartes’Philosophy and the Discourse on the Method
15:Descartes Understands the Ancient Delian Mystery
16:Princess Elizabeth
17:The Intrigues of Utrecht
18:The Call of the Queen
19: The Mysterious Death of Descartes
20:Leibniz’s Quest for Descartes’Secret
21:Leibniz Breaks Descartes’ Code and Solves the Mystery;A
Twenty-First-Century Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Index