Neither ancient nor modern
Wallis and Barrow on the composition of continua. Part two: The seventeenth-century context: The struggle between ancient and modern
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9370510 |
|---|---|
| Authors | KATHERINE HILL (0000-0002-1439-8174, Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto, Room 316, Victoria College, Toronto, Canada M5S 1K7, Canada, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 13-22 |
| Publication date | 1997-01-22 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Notes and Records the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0035-9149 • E-ISSN: 1743-0178 |
| Publisher | Royal Society (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1098/rsnr.1997.0002 |
| OpenAlex | W2100379269 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 3 |
In the the first part of this article* it was shown that neither John Wallis nor Isaac Barrow fits precisely into the modern or traditional categories commonly used by historians. Yet other kinds of tension between tradition and innovation did exist in the wider intellectual community of early modern England that might have some bearing on the state of mathematics. We therefore need to explore how the opposition between ancient and modern was expressed in the seventeenth century. First, there was the religiously based belief in the decay of nature; supporters of this belief regarded traditional methods to be superior. The defenders of the moderns, on the other hand, did not consider the Bible to rule out contemporary improvements on ancient techniques. But the very idea that knowledge could be advanced, particularly beyond the classical works, was still new and strange in this period.1 Second, the dispute surrounding educational reform included the rejection of traditional educational methods. Social and economic pressures led reformers to propose an increased concern with utility and practical methods, which might increase employment. Once the context of the tension between the supporters of the ancients and the supporters of the moderns has been explored, we can ascertain whether Wallis and Barrow stood on different sides in the conflict, and how this may have have influenced their mathematics
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| Citations per year | 0.07 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1999 - 2020 (22) |
| Highly cited | No |