Tool and object a history and philosophy of category theory
The book is first of all a history of category theory from the beginnings to A. Grothendieck and F.W. Lawvere. Category theory was an important conceptual tool in 20th century mathematics whose influence on some mathematical subdisciplines (above all algebraic topology and algebraic geometry) is ana...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | Libro electrónico |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Basel ; Boston :
Birkhauser
c2007.
|
| Edición: | 1st ed. 2007. |
| Colección: | Science networks historical studies ;
v. 32. |
| Materias: | |
| Ver en Biblioteca Universitat Ramon Llull: | https://discovery.url.edu/permalink/34CSUC_URL/1im36ta/alma991009461915706719 |
| Sumario: | The book is first of all a history of category theory from the beginnings to A. Grothendieck and F.W. Lawvere. Category theory was an important conceptual tool in 20th century mathematics whose influence on some mathematical subdisciplines (above all algebraic topology and algebraic geometry) is analyzed. Category theory also has an important philosophical aspect: on the one hand its set-theoretical foundation is less obvious than for other mathematical theories, and on the other hand it unifies conceptually a large part of modern mathematics and may therefore be considered as somewhat fundamental itself. The role of this philosophical aspect in the historical development is the second focus of the book. Relying on the historical analysis, the author develops a philosophical interpretation of the theory of his own, intending to get closer to how mathematicians conceive the significance of their activity than traditional schools of philosophy of science. The book is the first monography exclusively devoted to the history of category theory. To a substantial extent it considers aspects never studied before. The author uses (and justifies the use of) a methodology combining historical and philosophical approaches. The analysis is not confined to general remarks, but goes into considerable mathematical detail. Hence, the book provides an exceptionally thorough case study compared with other works on history or philosophy of mathematics. The philosophical position developed here (inspired by Peircean pragmatism and Wittgenstein) is an interesting alternative to traditional approaches in philosophy of mathematics like platonism, formalism and intuitionism. |
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| Notas: | Description based upon print version of record. |
| Descripción Física: | 1 online resource (400 p.) |
| Bibliografía: | Includes bibliographical references (p. [321]-341) and indexes. |
| ISBN: | 9781280943775 9786610943777 9783764375249 |
