Geometry

The Third Book of Foundations

Professor Michel Serres (Stanford University, USA), Randolph Burks

$70

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Bloomsbury Publishing
23 February 2017

Philosophy; History of Western philosophy; Philosophy of mathematics; Geometry

In this third installment of his classic 'Foundations' trilogy, Michel Serres takes on the history of geometry and mathematics. Even more broadly, Geometry is the beginnings of things and also how these beginnings have shaped how we continue to think philosophically and critically. Serres rejects a traditional history of mathematics which unfolds in a linear manner, and argues for the need to delve into the past of maths and identify a series of ruptures which can help shed light on how this discipline has developed and how, in turn, the way we think has been shaped and formed.

This meticulous and lyrical translation marks the first ever English translation of this key text in the history of ideas.

By: Professor Michel Serres (Stanford University USA)
Translated by: Randolph Burks
Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 406g
ISBN: 9781474281409
ISBN 10: 1474281400
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 23 February 2017
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

The origins of geometry The Universal: One of its First Constructions The Differences: Chaos in the History of Science Synthesis: The Science of History Part One: Customs and Laws 1. First in History: Anaximander Spaces without Exclusion: Juridical Origins 2. First in the rite: The royal victim Spaces of Exclusion: Political Origins 3. First in dialectic: The interlocutor Spaces of Exclusion: Discursive Origins 4.The Point at Noon Part Two: Nature 5.First in History: Thales From the pyramid to the tetrahedron: The optical origin From Diogenes to Thales: The ethical origin From the sun to the earth: The astronomical origin 6. First in philosophy: The ignorant slave boy From Pythagoras to Zeno: The algorithmic origin 7. First in logic: The element The automatic origin and Return to sociopolitical origins Part three: Conclusion 8. The Measurement of the Earth: Herodotus Notes

Michel Serres is a Professor in the History of Science at Stanford University and a member of the Academie Francaise. A renowned and popular philosopher, he is a prize-winning author of essays and books, such as The Five Senses, Rome and Statues. Randolph Burks is a philosopher specializing in phenomenology and philosophies of the body and nature. He has translated several works by Michel Serres, including Biogea, Variations on the Body and The Hermaphrodite (forthcoming) and the other two titles in the 'Foundations' series.

Reviews for Geometry: The Third Book of Foundations

Michel Serres is one of the most original philosophers on our planet. Trained in mathematics and the philosophy of science, he straddles the divide between the two cultures of science and the humanities, and has developed a style of writing that eschews the usual trappings of academic prose. Geometry is ostensibly an analysis of the origins of geometry in ancient Greece, but in the process, it presents an entire philosophy of space and time, of the nature of science and knowledge, and even of their relations to politics and religion. This is Serres at his best: inventive, provocative, and profound. -- Daniel W. Smith, Professor of Philosophy, Purdue University, USA