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Article: The Mathematical Career of Pierre de Fermat, 1601-1665, 2nd ed.
- Article from:
- Renaissance Quarterly
- Article date:
- March 22, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 The Renaissance Society of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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This book is the second edition of a significant work that focuses on the thought of the early seventeenth-century French mathematician, Pierre de Fermat. Mahoney's goals are twofold: to "give as full account as possible of the life and mathematical career of Pierre de Fermat," and "to make a contribution to a deeper understanding of mathematics in the seventeenth century . . . by revealing the thought of one of its foremost practitioners and . . . analyzing contemporary reaction to it" (xi, xiii). The author succeeds on both accounts with solid scholarship and persuasive arguments.
The first two chapters contain an account of Fermat's life, an overview of his ...