チャールズ・バベッジ『第9ブリッジウォーター論集』の数学的意義

概要

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Charles Babbage (1791-1871) was a polymath at the Victorian Age in England. He is famous for his calculating engines, especially the Analytical Engine, which is a prototype of modern computers. Also it is well known that the range of Babbage's writings are spread over many fields. The Ninth Bridgewater Treatise is a typical book indicating another talent of his. This treatise is known as a critic of Whewell's words in his Bridgewater Treatise entitled Astronomy and General Physics Considered with Reference to Natural Theology. In his treatise, Whewell dismissed works of continental mathematicians, because they were injurious to devotion. However Babbage stood against Whewell's position. When Babbage was an undergraduate of Cambridge University, he organized "Analytical Society" with his friends. The Society's object was to introduce continental mathematics (Analysis) into England. Babbage had learned the importance of continental Analysis, so he criticized Whewell's words. Another topic of Babbage's treatise is Hume's argument about miracles. In Hume's essay, Babbage noticed the number of witness of miracles. Using Laplace's probability theory and singular points of curves of the forth degree, Babbage criticized Hume's thought. Thus Babbage manifested his idea about natural theology, as a mathematician who adhered continental analysis.
2007-12-26