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The Great Leap to the Infinitely Small. Johann Bernoulli: Mathematician and Philosopher

1999; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 56; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/000337999296373

1464-505X

Gerard Sierksma, Wybe Sierksma,

Historical and Literary Studies

Johann Bernoulli is known mainly from his mathematical achievements concerning the differential and integral calculus, in which the concept of infinitely small plays a crucial part. This paper describes Bernoulli's struggle with this concept, especially the discrepancies that occur between his mathematical and philosophical interpretations. We concentrate on Bernoulli's Groningen period (1695-1705), in which the discussion with Leibniz about this question leads to a controversy between the two scholars.