How Did Calculus Contribute To The Development Of Europe

Pythagoras was the first person to really influence the founding of Calculus. He was an Ionian greek philosopher, mathematician, and has been credited as the founder of the movement called Pythagoreanism. Keep in mind he was born in 570 BC and died in 495 BC, so yeah, he’s kind of old. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him. He was born on the island of Samos, and traveled the world, visiting Egypt and Greece, and possibly India, and in 520 BC he returned Samos. Around 530 BC, he moves to Croton, in Magna Graecia, and there he established some kind of school or guild.

But in the 17th century knowledge in these fields took sharp turns. It started with new science discoveries through observation which did not hold true with the old believes. In astronomy for example, Kepler supported Copernicus’s claims, and believed it could only be understood through mathematical

Mathematics has been a part of society ever since its began. Numerous great minds have contributed to the field but one of the most influential mathematicians was Leonardo da Vinci. Genius, renowned and ahead of his time, Leonardo Da Vinci has been called all of these from the time he began changing the world and still is to this day. I chose Leonardo da Vinci to as my scientist because of how progressive da Vinci was within his designs. The power of mathematics and da Vinci’s mind brought humanity amazing new things and ideas. Though Da Vinci is most known for his superior artistic talents, he was also an inventor that incorporated mathematics into designs that were hundreds of years ahead of their time. The invention of a battle tank, robots and diving suits are all accredited to Leonardo da Vinci.

the heliocentric solar system. Johannes Kepler further modified the heliocentric system, by mathematically showing that the planets’ orbits are elliptical. With his invention of the telescope, Galileo made new observations about the solar system and found mathematical laws that described the movement of the planets. Later, Isaac Newton established a universal law of gravity. With the new scientific discoveries, the gap between religion and science increased. Science revolutionized the human though and its understanding of the universe.

Newton’s most important work, titled Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica contained his famous laws of motion, as well as new types of maths. Newton

According to document 4, Al-Khwarizmi, a Muslim mathematician wrote a textbook in the 800’s about algebra which was later adopted throughout Europe. Muslim mathematicians also adopted Arabic numerals from Indians and used them in place-value system. (Doc. 4) These mathematical advances also led to the creation of simple yet complicated structures. Also, after using their observations and their understanding of mathematics, Muslim scholars were able to make an advancement in mapmaking. They used astrolabe and armillary sphere to help study skies and make calculations for calendars and maps. (Doc.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was originally accused of plagiarism of Sir Isaac Newton's unpublished works, but is now regarded as an independent inventor and contributor towards calculus.

The Greeks made several inventions, most notably in the subject of math, which are still studied today and taught in school. Mathematician Euclid is often credited as the “Father of Geometry” for all his work and studies in this subject, which are compiled in his books called The Elements. He organized known geometrical statements called theorems and logically proved all of them. He proved the theorem of Pythagoras (another Greek mathematician), which stated that the equation (c2 = a2 + b2) is true for every right triangle.

At its climax the scientific revolution would bring enormous change with the revolutionary contributions made by Isaac Newton. Newton, building on previous works produced the concepts of gravity, and he developed the three laws of motion which could be accurately proved through mathematical calculations. These discoveries about the natural world would serve to mend past uncertainties which in turn gave people real hope. It was the beginning of an end of Europe’s dark times and the birth of many new innovations and developments that were to come in the eighteenth century. It was truly a new age where through reason one could become fully become enlightened.

This era is when the both science and math grew tremendously. Descartes invented analytical geometry, Leibniz invented infinitesimal calculus and Galileo and Isaac Newton built up the Law of Gravity. Along the same time frame Robert Boyle hypothesized “that matter was made up of atoms…” Aton Van Leeuwenhoek “crafted the first microscope” and Robert Hooke, using the microscope fashioned the word “cell” to describe “units of life.” These are but a few that contributed to the growths during the Baroque Era. The new science innovations and ways of thinking went from Greek standards and church doctrines to analyzing physical laws and nature. At one time, the universe revolved around the earth, whereas Galileo announced that it was incorrect

     From the period of 1145AD – the late 16th century, many mathematicians developed on algebraic concepts. However, it was not until the 1680’s that the most remarkable discoveries were made using algebra. Sir Isaac Newton was a very famous mathematician, English physicist, astronomer, philosopher, and alchemist. During his period of study, he used algebra to describe universal gravitation, develop the laws of motion, found orbits of the planets to be elliptical, discovered that light was made of particles, discovered the rate of cooling objects, and the binomial theorem. His most important works were the development of calculus. However, Newton did not work alone on creating the

Pierre de Fermat Pierre de Fermat was born in the year 1601 in Beaumont-de-Lomages, France. Mr. Fermat's education began in 1631. He was home schooled. Mr. Fermat was a single man through his life. Pierre de Fermat, like many mathematicians of the early 17th century, found solutions to the four major problems that created a form of math called calculus. Before Sir Isaac Newton was even born, Fermat found a method for finding the tangent to a curve. He tried different ways in math to improve the system. This was his occupation. Mr. Fermat was a good scholar, and amused himself by restoring the work of Apollonius on plane loci. Mr. Fermat published only a few papers in his lifetime and gave no systematic exposition of his methods. He had a

Bernoulli was soon exposed to Euler’s brilliance in analytical science and presently saw his true potential, and gained a new respect for him. Euler procured his degree of Master of Arts in philosophy in 1723 by comparing and contrasting the ideas of Descartes and Newton. He then attempted to gain degrees in Theology and Oriental languages on his father’s request, but did not complete the course due to disinterest in the subject, and soon, with his father’s permission, returned to the study of mathematics.

Sir Isaac Newton once said, “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” Aside from his countless contributions to the worlds of math and science, this may be his most important quote because it is what he based his life on—building bridges of knowledge. Throughout his life he was devoted to expanding his and others knowledge past previously known realms. Often regarded of the father of calculus, Newton contributed many notable ideas and functions to the world through his creation of calculus and the various divisions of calculus. Namely, Newton built upon the works of great mathematicians before him through their use of geometry, arithmetic and algebra to create a much more complex field that could explain many more processes in

Mathematics has contributed to the alteration of technology over many years. The most noticeable mathematical technology is the evolution of the abacus to the many variations of the calculator. Some people argue that the changes in technology have been for the better while others argue they have been for the worse. While this paper does not address specifically technology, this paper rather addresses influential persons in philosophy to the field of mathematics. In order to understand the impact of mathematics, this paper will delve into the three philosophers of the past who have contributed to this academic. In this paper, I will cover the views of three philosophers of mathematics encompassing their