"Mathesis universalis" in the seventeenth century

pp. 359-418

in: Chikara Sasaki, Descartes's mathematical thought, Berlin, Springer, 2003

Abstrakt

How did Descartes grasp "mathesis universalis'? We have already discussed its mathematical nature in Chapter 4, § 3. Now we turn to his philosophy of mathematics and attempt to support an argument about how "mathesis universalis' in his youthful work Regulae ad directionem ingenii should be understood philosophically. For this purpose, we consider retrospectively his theory of mathematics there, turning our attention to its philosophical aspect.