The ontological status of geometrical objects in the commentary on the Elements of Euclid of Jacques Peletier du Mans (1517-1582)

Working paper d'Angela Axworthy
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In Peletier's commentary on the Elements (1557), the ontological status of the objects of geometry is defined, on one hand, through the assertion of their archetypal role in the constitution of the Universe and, on the other hand, through the description of their modes of apprehension in the frame of geometrical research. The first perspective, which is qualified by the statement of the limits of the human mind faced with the true genesis of geometrical objects, tends to give way to a more human representation of geometry, which is mainly fulfilled through the non-passive and rational study of the objects of Euclidean geometry.

The author

Angela Axworthy received her Ph.D. in Philosophy in 2011 from the Center for Advanced Studies in Renaissance in Tours. She continued her research at the Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte in Berlin since September 2012, first as a beneficiary of a Fernand Braudel-IFER Fellowship from the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (from September 2012 to May 2013), and then as Postdoctoral Fellow of the MPIWG (June 2013 to June 2014). Her researches focus on the status of mathematics in the context of the Euclidian tradition of the 16th century and more particularly on the ontological status of objects of geometry.

Reference

Angela Axworthy. The ontological status of geometrical objects in the commentary on the Ele-ments of Euclid of Jacques Peletier du Mans (1517-1582). FMSH-WP-2013-41. 2013.

Published at 29 August 2013