Redefining Geometrical Exactness: Descartes' Transformation of the Early Modern Concept of Construction

by Henk J. M. Bos G. J. (EDT) Toomer H. J. M. Bos

In his Geometrie of 1637 Descartes achieved a monumental innovation of mathematical techniques by introducing what is now called analytic geometry. Yet the key question of the book was foundational rather than technical: When are geometrical objects known with such clarity and distinctness as befits the exact science of geometry? Classically, the answer was sought in procedures of geometrical construction, in particular by ruler and compass, but the introduction of new algebraic techniques made these procedures insufficient. In this detailed study, spanning essentially the period from the first printed edition of Pappus' Collection (1588, in Latin translation) and Descartes' death in 1650, Bos explores the current ideas about construction and geometrical exactness, noting that by the time Descartes entered the field the incursion of algebraic techniques, combined with an increasing uncertainty about the proper means of geometrical problem solving, had produced a certain impasse.

470 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2000