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A defence of free-thinking in mathematics
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Berkeley/Defence/
'A Defence of Free-Thinking in Mathematics' is an e-text version of a reply by the eighteenth century empiricist philosopher George Berkeley, originally published in 1735, in response to various criticisms that had been made of his earlier tract in the philosophy of mathematics, 'The Analyst'. Berkeley (1685-1753), also known as Bishop Berkeley, is most famous for 'A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge', and 'Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous'. In 'The Analyst', he argued that much of the mathematical reasoning of his day was conducive to anti-Christian practice and thought. In particular, he was keen to argue against the notion of fluxions (fluxion: the velocity of the motion that produces lines, planes, and solids). 'The Analyst' spawned a number of replies from mathematicians at the time, and in 'A Defence of Free-Thinking in Mathematics', Berkeley responds to two of them: the main body of the text tackles issues raised by James Jurin (writing as Philalethes Cantabrigiensis) in 'Geometry no friend to Infidelity', whilst the appendix contains a short reply to J. Walton's 'Vindication of Sir Isaac Newton's Principles of Fluxions'. The resource is available in 4 formats (HTML, LaTeX, DVI, and PostScript). The work is presented in plain text, and there are no hyperlinks within the text itself. However, the site does provide hyperlinks to e-text versions of 'The Analyst','Geometry no friend to Infidelity', and Berkeley's further reply to Walton, 'Reasons for not replying to Mr. Walton's Full Answer'. It also includes a biography of George Berkeley, pamphlets on 'The Analyst Controversy' and a link to the 'History of Mathematics' website.
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Abu Ali al-Husain ibn Abdallah ibn Sina (Avicenna)
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Avicenna.html
This is a biography of the Muslim thinker ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna. Born in 980 A.D. in Kharmaithen (near Bukhara), Central Asia (now Uzbekistan), Avicenna died in 1037 A.D. in Hamadan, Persia (now Iran). Avicenna sought to integrate all aspects of science and religion in a single grand metaphysical vision. With this vision he attempted to explain the formation of the universe, as well as to elucidate the problems of evil, prayer, providence, prophecies, miracles, and marvels. He also considered problems relating to the organisation of the state in accordance with religious law and the question of the ultimate destiny of man. The site is part of the MacTutor History of Mathematics archives based at the School of Mathematics and Statistics at University of St. Andrews. The site contains detailed biographical information about Avicenna, a basic outline of his thought, and links to other related entries in MacTutor. There is also a bibliography of books and articles on Avicenna, although it does not contain references dating past 1999.
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Analyst, The
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Berkeley/Analyst/
The Analyst is an e-text version of the work of the same name by the eighteenth century philosopher George Berkeley (1685-1753, also known as Bishop Berkeley), which was his main foray into the philosophy of mathematics. The resource is based on the print text contained in George Sampson's 1898 edition of Berkeley's works, albeit with a small number of minor alterations that are detailed by the compiler.Berkeley's principal works were A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, and he is most famous for his doctrine of immaterialism (immaterialism: the theory in metaphysics that only minds and the ideas they perceive exist). However, he had his fingers in many pies, and with The Analyst he deals specifically, yet philosophically, with issues in mathematics. In particular, he argues against the notion of fluxions (fluxion: the velocity of the motion that produces a line, plane, or solid), which notion propped up a great deal of mathematical theory in Berkeley's day.The Analyst is addressed to, and is an attack on the thinking of, a certain "infidel mathematician", identified in the first major biography of Berkeley (Joseph Stock's An Account of the Life of George Berkeley (1776)) as one Edmond Halley. The Analyst also spawned a number of replies from mathematicians of the time, some of which Berkeley replied to in turn. There are hyperlinks from the resource's home page to e-text versions of several of these replies and rejoinders.The e-text itself is available in 3 formats (HTML, LaTeX, and PostScript). The resource is presented in plain text, and there are useful hyperlinks to each of the 50 numbered sections of the work.
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Geometry no friend to infidelity
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Jurin/NoFriend/
Geometry no friend to Infidelity is an e-text version of a book by James Jurin, first published in 1734, that was written in reply to The Analyst, a tract in the philosophy of mathematics by the eighteenth century empiricist philosopher George Berkeley (1685-1753). The e-text is based on the original 1734 publication of the print text of The Analyst. Jurin, a Cambridge mathematician of Berkeley's day, and who writes here under the pseudonym Philalethes Cantabrigiensis, takes particular exception to two strands of thought presented in The Analyst. The first is Berkeley's assertion that the mathematics of the day were conducive to anti-Christian beliefs and practices. The second is Berkeley's attack on the notion of fluxions (fluxion: the velocity of the motion that produces lines, planes, or solids), which notion propped up much mathematical theory at the time. The resource is available in 4 formats (HTML, LaTeX, DVI, and PostScript). It is presented in plain text, and there are no hyperlinks within the text itself. The site does however provide hyperlinks to e-text versions of both The Analyst, and A Defence of Free-thinking in Mathematics. The latter was Berkeley's own subsequent reply to Jurin.
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George Berkeley (1685 - 1753)
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~dwilkins/Berkeley/
This is a list of electronic resources on the life and works of Bishop George Berkeley (1685-1753), compiled by mathematician David Wilkins. There is a selection of both short and long biographies of Berkeley, and links to complete versions of Berkeley's texts, a number of which Wilkins has prepared himself for electronic distribution. There is also a separate section on the Analyst controversy -- Berkeley's attack on the method of mathematical analysis employed by Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and others. The original attack, plus various responses and counter-responses to it are all made available here, along with brief introductory comments that situate the writings in the context of the debate. This site is notable in its inclusion of important works by Berkeley, which are here often made available in different editions where they exist, and in a variety of electronic formats. Editions and versions used are clearly indicated, and the site is easy to navigate.
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Mind and society home page
http://www.mind-society.org/
This is the homepage of 'Mind and Society' - a series of annual symposia organised jointly by the sociology departments of the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University. The initiative aims to bring together scholars from different disciplines who are interested in the implications of Wittgensteinian philosophy in the studies of science and technology, and social science. This website contains information about all the meetings they have held since the first symposium was organised in 1994. There are details of the board and the participants; and a map of how to get to the symposium. There are also details of recent publications and access to a number of articles. Links are provided to relevant websites.
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People with online papers in philosophy
http://consc.net/people.html
David Chalmers, professor of philosophy at Australian National University, has compiled a simple, but useful, page listing contemporary philosophers who have made available their research papers online. The materials are organised into different sections, and headings include: philosophy of mind; philosophy of language; metaphysics; epistemology; philosophy of science; philosophy of logic; mathematics; philosophy of religion; applied ethics; philosophy of consciousness; value theory; and history of philosophy. There are also sections on Medieval philosophy; 17th and 18th century philosophy; Asian philosophy; Ancient Greek philosophy; and 19th and 20th century philosophy.
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Reasons for not replying to Mr. Walton's full answer
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Berkeley/Reasons/
"Reasons for not replying to Mr. Walton's Full Answer" is an e-text version of the print text of the same name by the eighteeth century philosopher George Berkeley (1685-1753, also known as Bishop Berkeley, his most famous works are A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous). It is Berkeley's response to criticisms made in "A Cathechism of the author of the Minute Philosopher Fully Considered" by J. Walton, a mathematician of the day, of Berkeley's tract in the philosophy of mathematics, "The Analyst".In "The Analyst", Berkeley had argued that much of the mathematical reasoning of his day facilitated anti-Christian practice and thinking; in particular he argued against the notion of fluxions (fluxion: the velcotiy of the motion that produces lines, planes and solids). Several replies to "The Analyst" were written by mathematicians at the time. One such reply was James Jurin's (writing as Philalethes Cantabrigiensis) "Geometry no Friend to Infidelity", to which Berkeley responded in his subsequent "A Defence of Free-Thinking in Mathematics". In the appendix to "A Defence of Free-Thinking in Mathematics", Berkeley had written a brief, 4 paragraph reply to Walton's "Vindication of Sir Isaac Newton's Principles of Fluxions", and it is with "Reasons for not replying to Mr. Walton's Full Answer" that a more detailed response to Walton is given.The resource is available in 4 formats (HTML, LaTeX, DVI, and PostScript), and it is presented in plain text in the original 21 numbered paragraphs, without hyperlinks within the text itself. However, the home page does provide hyperlinked access to e-text versions to both "The Analyst" and "A Defence of Free-Thinking in Mathematics".
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Steps toward a constructive nominalism
http://www.ditext.com/quine/stcn.html
This website contains the full text of "Steps Toward a Constructive Nominalism", an essay by the philosophers Nelson Goodman (1906-1998) and W.V.O. Quine (1908-200), first published in the Journal of Symbolic Logic, 12 (1947). The essay is a founding text in twentieth-century Anglophone nominalism (the view that there are no abstract entities), and has repercussions for metaphysics, logic, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mathematics. The essay is divided into the following sections: 1. Renunciation of Abstract Entities; 2. Renunciation of Infinity; 3. The Nominalist's Problems; 4. Some Nominalistic Reductions; 5. Elements of Nominalistic Syntax; 6. Some Auxiliary Definitions; 7. Variables and Quantification; 8. Formulas; 9. Axioms and Rules; 10. Proofs and Theorems; Conclusion.
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Value of knowledge : a miniature library of philosophy
http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/
The Miniature Library of Philosophy website provides a large collection of primary source readings which together trace the history of the modern intellectual climate, beginning with Galilei Galileo (1564-1642) and ending with contemporary post-modern theory. While ostensibly the history of modern western philosophy is the main linking theme between the texts chosen, there is a strong bias towards Marxism and socialism, which is not surprising given that this collection is part of the vast Marxist Internet Archive. Other topics covered include the philosophy of mathematics, psychology, science, epistemology, social science, existentialism, and phenomenology, and post-structuralism. The readings are indexed by theme, and alphabetically by author, and a site search facility can be found at the bottom of the home page. A broad spread of philosophical topics is addressed, and there are links to biographical information on some of the philosophers, along with analysis and a glossary. Also available is a set of links to other pages of interest, including resources on ethics, politics, feminism, Marxism, and Hegel. While the site uses frames, a no-frames version is provided. This site was compiled by Andy Blunden, an independent scholar from Australia. It would be of use to students and researchers looking for key texts in the history of western philosophy.
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