Review

Reviewed Work(s): Elements de la geometrie de l'infini by Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle

Review by: Douglas M. Jesseph
Source: Isis, Vol. 87, No. 3 (Sep., 1996), pp. 549-550
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/236019
Accessed: 27-11-2016 14:06 UTC

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 BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 87 : 3 (1996) 549

an algebraic
algebraic extension
extension ofof root
root extraction-evoke
extraction-evoke for the infinitesimal calculus. The title itself is
Newton's introduction
introduction ofof infinite
infinite series
series by
byanal-revealing. It reflects Fontenelle's interest in set-
anal-
ogy with unlimited
unlimited decimal
decimal fractions.
fractions. ting out the elements of a new geometry of the
On another
another front,
front, the
the author
author emphasizes
emphasizesTa- Ta-infinite, just as Euclid's Elements was the ca-
kebe's link
link to
to the
the shogun
shogun Yoshimune,
Yoshimune, himself
himself
nonical presentation of classical geometry. The
an enthusiast
enthusiast of
of the
the sciences,
sciences, who,
who, perhaps
perhapsunder development of the infinitesimal calculus in the
under
Takebe's influence,
influence, relaxed
relaxed the
the edict
edict forbidding
forbidding second half of the seventeenth century made the
the introduction
introduction of of foreign
foreign books,
books, including
includingsci-justification of infinitesimal techniques impor-
sci-
entific books.
books. In
In addition
addition toto the
the political
political contexttant, and a number of leading mathematicians
context
of these scientific
scientific developments,
developments, the the actual
actualap-
ap-turned their attentions to questions of the infinite.
plications of
of mathematics
mathematics are
are shown
shown to
to have
have G. W. Leibniz's attitude toward the infinites-
been determining
determining factors.
factors. Mathematical
Mathematical devel-
devel-
imal was complex; he held that it was ultimately
opments did
did not
not occur
occur for
for their
their own
own sakes,
sakes,as
asisis
a "well-grounded fiction" that could, in princi-
often maintained
maintained in
in regard
regard toto Japanese
Japanese mathe-
mathe- ple, be replaced by classical techniques and was
matics, but
but in
in relation
relation to
to specific
specific applications
applicationsin in
thereby guaranteed not to lead into error. Other
astronomy
astronomy or or cartography-both
cartography-both fieldsfields to
towhich
which figures of the period, notably Johann (I) Ber-
Takebe contributed
contributed greatly.
greatly. noulli, the marquis de L'Hopital, Pierre Vari-
In conclusion,
conclusion, the
the book
book is
is praiseworthy
praiseworthy for notgnon, and Fontenelle, were concerned to defend
fornot
indulging inin simplistic
simplistic explanations
explanations thatthat would
wouldthe reality of the infinitesimal. Indeed, Fonte-
attribute the
the kind
kind ofof mathematical
mathematical activity
activitythat
thatnelle's tElments is essentially the culmination of
blossomed
blossomed in in Japan
Japan toto aa "Japanese
"Japanese mind."
mind."On On
a long project devoted to the elaboration of the
the contrary,
contrary, Annick
Annick Horiuchi
Horiuchi constantly
constantlyseeks
seeksmetaphysics of the infinite. Published in 1727,
historical,
historical, institutional,
institutional, and
and social
social factors
factorstotoil-
il-
the Elements differs significantly from L'Hopi-
luminate the
the emergence
emergence of of aa tradition
tradition that
thatde- tal's 1696 Analyse des infiniment petits pour
de-
serves wider
wider attention.
attention. Not
Not only
only did
did mathematics
mathematics l'intelligence des lignes courbes (Imprimiere
in Japan develop,
develop, apparently
apparently independently,
independently,
Royale) in its approach. The earlier work (to
along lines
lines comparable
comparable toto some
some Western
Western re-
re-
which Fontenelle had contributed a preface) was
search of the
the time;
time; it
it did
did so
so by
by relying
relying on onthemes, concerned exclusively with presenting the new
themes,
methods, and
and philosophical
philosophical trends
trends from
from thetheChi-
Chi-
calculus and did not attempt a systematic theory
nese tradition,
tradition, thus
thus offering
offering an an exciting
exciting topic
topicforof the infinite.
for
comparison.
comparison. ButBut the
the comparison
comparison promises
promisesto be The structure of the Elements reflects his con-
tobe
interesting
interesting not
not only
only with
with respect
respect toto the
the Far
FarWest:cern with developing a comprehensive and sys-
West:
slightly later,
later, in
in China,
China, Ming
Ming Antu
Antu elaborated
elaboratedatematic
a approach to the geometry of the infinite.
context for some infinite series introduced a few The treatise consists of two parts: a "General
decades earlier by the French Jesuit Jartoux bySystem of the Infinite" and "Various Applica-
digging into the Chinese mathematical traditiontions or Remarks" that extend the system to sev-
and attempting to produce a synthesis. Dealingeral problems. Fontenelle's extensive and inter-
with the same topics, Takebe also relied deeplyesting preface to the Ele'ments is noteworthy for
on that Chinese tradition, and these two forms its treatment of philosophical and methodologi-
of continuity remain to be compared. cal issues while it traces a veritable "history of
KARINE CHEMLA the infinite" from antiquity up through the de-
velopment of the calculus. The system of the in-
finite is founded on an apparently innocuous def-
inition of magnitude, namely, "that which is
* Eighteenth Century susceptible of augmentation and diminution";
numbers obviously satisfy this criterion, since "a
Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle. Elements de number can, without ceasing to be a number, be
la geometrie de l'infini. Introduction by Michel
greater or less" (p. 65). It follows quickly that
Blay and Alain Niderst. 623 pp., illus. Paris:zero is not a magnitude and, further, that any
Editions Klincksieck, 1995. Fr 320 (paper).
magnitude can be increased at will while re-
maining a magnitude. The concept of infinity is
Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle's Elements de then introduced with the declaration that "be-
la geometrie de l'infini occupies an unusualcause magnitude is susceptible of augmentation
place in the history of mathematics. It is nothingwithout end, we can conceive or suppose it to be
less than an attempt to develop a rigorous and augmented an infinity of times, that is to say it
philosophically respectable theory of the infinite,will become infinite" (p. 93). The remainder of
which can then serve as the proper foundation
the first part of the leJments is devoted to de-

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550 BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 87: 3 (1996)

veloping
velopinga atheory
theory of of
infinitely
infinitely
large large
and small magnetism,
magnetism, plus
and small plusseveral
severalshorter
shorterrelated
related pieces.
pieces.
magnitudes,
magnitudes, including
including a number
a number of results on in- The
of results The second
second part
on in- partofofthe
thevolume,
volume,withwith editing
editing andand
finite
finiteseries
seriesandandan an
exposition
exposition
of the ofcalculus. commentary
commentary by
the calculus. byDavid
DavidSpeiser,
Speiser,isisononDaniel
Daniel Ber-
Ber-
The
The second
second part
partof of
thethe
Elements
Elementstakes takes
up various noulli's
noulli's work
up various work on onelectricity.
electricity.Bernoulli,
Bernoulli, himself,
himself,
applications
applications ofofthethetheory,
theory,
including
including
a defense of published
published
a defense of nothing
nothingon onelectricity,
electricity,and andthethe texts
texts
the
the exactitude
exactitude of of
thethecalculus
calculus
and geometric
and geometricin- describing
in-
describing his
his work
workcomecomefrom
fromhis hisstudents
students Abel
Abel
vestigations
vestigations into
intothetheproperties
properties of curves. Socin
of curves. Socin and
and the
the Teleki
Telekibrothers.
brothers.The Thethird
third part
partofof
This
Thisedition
edition is is
a reproduction
a reproductionof the of1727
the orig- the
the volume,
1727 orig- volume, with withediting
editingand andcommentary
commentary byby
inal,
inal,with
withanan introduction
introduction by Michel
by Michel Blay Andr6
Blay and Andr6
and Englebert,
Englebert,isison onhorology.
horology.ItItincludes
includes anan
Alain
AlainNiderst
Niderst andandan an
appendix
appendix
containing
containing
Fon- Fon-essay
essay onon the
the design
designof ofhourglasses
hourglassesand and a second
a second
tenelle's
tenelle'sreply
reply to to
criticisms.
criticisms.
The introduction
The introduction is essay
essayison
on mechanical
mechanicalmethods
methodsfor fordetermining
determining
quite
quiteuseful
useful for forsetting
setting
the the
tlementstlements
in thein the
time
time at
at sea.
sea. The
Theentire
entirevolume
volumeisisininFrench,
French, with
with
appropriate historical context, although some the
the exception
exception of ofaabrief
briefforeword
forewordinin German.
German.
readers are likely to balk at the suggestion that These
These essays
essays reveal
revealthethecontinuing
continuingimportance
importance
Fontenelle's investigations are an important pre- of the the problem
problemof oflongitude
longitudefor formathematics
mathematics andand
cursor to the Cantorian theory of transfinite num- mechanics mechanics in in the
theeighteenth
eighteenthcentury.
century. It It
is,is,
per-
per-
bers. Although the text is occasionally difficult haps, haps, surprising
surprisingto tosee
seethetheParis
ParisAcademy
Academy still
still
to read, owing to the inevitable problems of pho- interested interested in in hourglasses
hourglassesininthe the1740s,
1740s, butbut there
there
tographic reproduction of an eighteenth-century was was still
still no
no certainty
certaintythat thatananadequate
adequate mechani-
mechani-
original, historians of mathematics should be cal clock could be built for use at sea. The dis-
well pleased to have this volume widely avail- covery that the magnetic declination varied with
able. time seemed to eliminate another promising
DOUGLAS M. JESSEPH method for determining longitude, but Bernoulli
still hoped that by charting both magnetic dec-
lination and dip one could locate one's position
at sea. Constructing an accurate dip needle was
Daniel Bernoulli. Die Werke von Daniel Ber-
much more difficult than constructing a com-
noulli. Volume 7: Magnetism and Technology.
pass, hence the prize competition.
Edited with commentary by Patricia Radelet-
Often Bernoulli tried to apply the most current
de Grave, David Speiser, and Andre Engle-
work in mechanics to competition problems. For
bert. (Die Gessammelten Werke der Mathema-
instance, in constructing a new mechanical the-
tiker und Physiker der Familie Bernoulli.) xx +
ory of magnetism he imagined a magnet com-
337 pp., frontis., illus., figs., tables. Basel/Bos-
posed of fibers under tension through which
ton/Berlin: Birkhauser, 1994. DM 228, OS
flowed a magnetic fluid, allowing him to employ
1,778.40, SFr 198, ?88, Fr 898.
his work on hydrodynamics and the vibrating
This is the third volume to appear in the pro- string. Daniel Bernoulli was less prone than his
jected eight-volume edition of the collected contemporaries to displays of mathematical py-
works of Daniel Bernoulli. Although the subjects rotechnics-he offers nothing like the memoir
treated in this volume-magnetism, electricity,for the 1745 prize question on finding time at sea
and horology-are not the most important of from an anonymous mathematician (probably
Daniel Bernoulli's works, in some ways they areJean d'Alembert), who happily confessed that he
the most characteristic. Certainly Daniel had a had no knowledge of navigation, nor of astro-
more practical bent than his father Johann and nomical observations, having never seen the
his uncle Jakob, and this is reflected in his sub-ocean, nor a ship, nor instruments. Daniel, who
missions for the prizes offered by the Paris finally won the prize after adding a supplement
Academy of Sciences. Daniel won the prize ten in 1747, applied his mathematical skills to re-
times, second only to his compatriot Leonhard ducing the perturbations of a clock caused by a
Euler, who won eleven times. The prize com- rocking ship, by the resistance of the air and the
petitions often dealt with practical problems, and suspension, and by temperature changes. The
therefore it is not surprising that this volume on fact that John Harrison, working at the same
technology contains four of Daniel Bernoulli's time, solved these problems by tinkering and not
prize papers. by mathematics does not take away from the fact
The first part of the volume, with editing and that Daniel Bernoulli was both willing and able
commentary by Patricia Radelet-de Grave, deals to combine mathematical skill with manual dex-
with magnetism and consists of two prize papers, terity and a knowledge of instruments. David
one from 1743 on the construction of dip needles Speiser claims (p. 167) that he was the only one
and the second from 1744-1746 on the theory of of the major mathematicians between Newton

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