Essay on Leibniz The Father of Modern Calculus - 1208 Words

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is an important figure in the history of philosophy and mathematics. Although his work was not fully appreciated during his day, he did much to advance the quot;thinkingquot; on a variety of subjects. His fame was scarred by the infamous controversy with Isaac Newton on the subject of the discoverer of calculus. Leibnizs work encompassed a wide scope, ranging from philosopy to politics to mechanics and mathematics, but his most noteworthy accomplishment was the discovery of differential calculus and its highly efficient notation. Leibniz was born July 1, 1646 in Leipzig, Germany into a family of renowned scholars. His father, Friedrich Leibniz, was a professor of philosophy at the University of†¦show more content†¦After his thesis was rejected by the University of Leipzig, Leibniz pursued alchemy and magic at N#252;rnberg. To add to that, Leibniz made an attempt at becoming a diplomat. This ambitious man made several efforts to reunite the Protestant and Catholic Church. He also tried to persuade Louis XIV to attack Egypt instead of German areas. In the end, these efforts were fruitless. Leibniz had other aspirations and founded the Academy of Berlin. He also was quot;consulted about the foundation of the academies of Vienna and St. Petersburgquot; (Broad 3). During his later years, Leibniz attained the position of librarian of the Duke of Brunswick. Lastly, Leibniz was also quite advanced as an engineer. His most prominent invention was the mechanical calculating machine. Other assignme nts include windmills, pumps, and gears, which he designed by for government projects. Leibnizs principal area of expertise was his philosophy. He published many books and papers on his view of the world and its truths. One of his key concepts was the monad. A monad is the most basic quot;elementquot; of matter according to Leibniz. Everything was made up of monads and each varied according to function. This concept was published in Th#233;odic#233;e in 1710, quot;a philosophical work intended to tackle the problem of evil in a world created by a good Godquot; (OConnor and Robertson). In it, he also described this universe as imperfect otherwiseShow MoreRelatedThe Discovery Of Calculus : Newton And Gottfried Von Leibniz Essay1465 Words   |  6 Pagesthe controversy of the discovery of Calculus. In the 1600s, two men, Isaac Newton and Gottfried von Leibniz both began the study of differential and integral Calculus. During the 17th century, plagiarism was an extremely serious offense and second inventors were often put in the position to defend their right to th e topic and against suspicion. Newton and Leibniz spent many years with their respective supporters defending their claim to the discovery of Calculus although today historians and mathematiciansRead More history of algebra Essay1199 Words   |  5 Pagesof algebra, Archimedes (212BC – 281BC), a Greek mathematician, worked on calculus equations and used geometric proofs to prove the theories of mathematics (â€Å"Archimedes†). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Although little is known about him, Diophantus (200AD – 284AD), an ancient Greek mathematician, studied equations with variables, starting the equations of algebra that we know today. Diophantus is often known as the â€Å"father of algebra† (quot;Diophantusquot;). However, many mathematicians still argueRead More Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Essay2087 Words   |  9 PagesAlthough Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz had no formal training as a mathematician, his contributions to the field of mathematics are still evident today. His results and work laid the groundwork for more thorough and rigorous treatments of calculus that would come later from various mathematicians. One of his most enduring legacies is the notations he used for calculus, which are still used around the world. Outside of mathematics Gottfried Leibniz made contributions to the fields of philosophy, law,Read MoreEssay about Mathematical Connection1238 Words   |  5 Pagesand what sign ificant events happened to facilitate such an advanced society. A better understanding can be derived by analyzing the historical background on the mathematicians, the time periods, and the contributions that affected their society and modern society as well as specific examples of how the mathematical developments affected society. Math had and has a great impact in technology. During the 20th century mathematics made very quick advances on all fronts. Mathematics sped up theRead MoreMathematical Connection Essay1173 Words   |  5 Pagesand what significant events happened to facilitate such an advanced society. A better understanding can be derived by analyzing the historical background on the mathematicians, the time periods, and the contributions that affected their society and modern society as well as specific examples of how the mathematical developments affected society. Math had and has a great impact in technology. During the 20th century mathematics made very quick advances on all fronts. Mathematics sped up theRead More Philosophy in Mathematics Essay3045 Words   |  13 Pages(1596-1650), G. W. Leibniz (1646-1716), and Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) (Ebersole, S. (#5)) are the three philosophers. Though all three of these philosophers contributed their own reviews on the subject of mathematical philosophy, they all saw the world and thus it‘s mechanical contributions â€Å"as being controlled by mathematical principles.† (Ebersole, S.). Rene Descartes was born, March 31, 1596 near Tours, France (Weisstein, E.), to an important family; Descartes’ father held a position as â€Å"Councilor†Read MoreThe Theory Of The Scientific Revolution1255 Words   |  6 Pagessource of logic and thinking for the scientific and philosophic community. Another major development in the field of mathematics was Calculus. Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz and Isaac Newton independently discovered this new method of reason. The analysis and synthesis involved in calculus became the basis of the scientific method. Leonard Euler further developed calculus; Euler contributed â€Å"to number theory [and] introduced many notational forms still in use—e for natural logarithms, fand parenthesesRead MoreEssay on The Contributions of Isaac Newton973 Words   |  4 PagesHe was born the same day that Galileo Galilei died. His step- father died a couple months before he was born, and 2 years later his mother marries a well-to-do minister by the name of Barnabas Smith. Newtons mother, Hannah, soon left her son with his grandmother in order to start a new life with her husband. Due to his traumatic past at an early age, Newton showed signs of psychotic tendencies. Later on his step-father died and Hannah wanted Newton to manage the considerable amountRead MoreThe Life and Times of Sir Isaac Newton Essay1609 Words   |  7 Pagesbecause his biological father died three months before he was born. Then, his mother remarried and left him to be raised by his grandparents. It was not until 1661, when Newton started studying at Cambridge University, that Newton took an interest in math and science. Then, in 1665, Newton was forced to go home because of an epidemic outbreak. During his time away from school, Newton started studying optics, math, and gravity. In addition, he started to create Calculus. Newton was allowed toRead MoreEssay on The Male Ego and the Perception of Women in Science1022 Words   |  5 Pagescenter of intellectual life. Both the Lady Anne and Sarah Anne started their education with their brothers and then surpassed their brothers. The countess book, The Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy, which profoundly influenced Leibniz, 18th century thinking, and modern science, was credited to von Helmont. Von Helmont had, after the countess death, returned to Europe with most of her papers and notebooks and published them. Even though Liebniz gave the countess the credit