Archimedes of Syracuse
(278 B.C.E. - 212 B.C.E.)
"The importance of the role played by Archimedes in the history of science can scarcely be exaggerated. He was emulated and admired in his own day and at successive periods in later times" (Clagett, 1).
During the time period before Archimedes, Aristotle had already effectively drawn a line between philosophy and mathematics. After his date philosophy is carried on without mathematical inspiration. There is an outbreak, known as the Golden Age of Greek mathematics, that just happens to occur in Alexandria during the period 300 to 200 B.C.E.. This period lasted only a short time however because philosophic faith in mathematics gradually disappeared. Philosophers were more inclined to use their intellect to come up with explanations based on simply theoretical assumptions and by faith (Ginsburg, 57). Since philosophy had been around long before mathematics was thought up, it remained the more publicly acceptable way to answer questions. By not linking the two, "they missed a grand opportunity to blow open the secrets of the universe to science, and they bequeathed to posterity, a heavy obstacle to the progress of science as a whole" (Ginsburg, 58). Archimedes works at this time are therefore described as magical and mysterious, rather than explained in the words of a modern day scientist.
"Had he been born in another age... had he come into a different cultural inheritance and had the seeds of his own work fallen upon more favorable soil, he might also have ranked as the greatest of all time" (Ginsburg, 56).
In his time, Archimedes served as a mathematician, physicist, and inventor. Unlike other mathematicians of his day, Archimedes was able to achieve some f...
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...ge: Harvard
Press. 2000.
- Clagett, Marshall. Archimedes in the Middle Ages Volume 1. Madison: University of
Wisconsin Press. 1964.
- Cooke, Roger. The History of Mathematics. New York. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
1997. pp. 115
- Dijksterhuis, E. J. Archimedes. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. 1987.
- Ginsberg, Benjamin. The Adventure of Science. New York: Tudor Publishing Company.
1930.
- Grande, John Del. "The Method of Archimedes," The Mathematics Teacher, Vol. 86,
Num. 3 (Mar. 1993): 240-243.
The following websites were also used for references:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Archimedes.html
http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.html
http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/00686.html
http://www.treasure-troves.com/bios/Archimedes.html
... middle of paper ... ... We can trace the origins of modern scientific trends back to Greek primal establishment. From the simplistic Socratic approach of ‘Who am I?’
Bragg, Melvyn, On Giants' Shoulders: Great Scientists and Their Discoveries from Archimedes to DNA. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
Dionysius I of Syracuse garnered a reputation as a warmongering tyrant who harmed his people with his oppressive regime. However many surviving sources that explore his rule were written by people who were ideologically opposed to perceived tyrants. It is therefore quite possible that aspects of Dionysius rule where left out or exaggerated to suit the author`s anti-tyrannical agenda. It is the intention of this paper to argue that Dionysius rule did in fact benefit Syracuse more than he harmed it during his lifetime. His domestic and foreign affairs will be explored in order to show how he in fact benefitted the Syracusan state as well as the majority of its people. It will however also be argued that his legacy did harm the Syracusan state but that overall Dionysius rule was beneficial in his lifetime.
“Why Herodotus believed Culture is King” Herodotus believed preservation of culture had to be the dominant policy in maintaining, and controlling an empire, thus believing that “culture is king”, Herodotus celebrated the cultures, and achievements of humanity. In Herodotus he writes, “The actions of people shall not fade with time, so the great and admirable monuments produced by both Greeks and Barbarians shall not go unrenowned, and among other things, set forth the reasons why they waged war against each other. ””(Herodotus)” this quote sums up Herodotus’s view, that culture is something that needed to be preserved, and documented. Through his many journeys and travels, Herodotus documented everything, and wrote about many cultures, and societies. He made it a point to not only gather information, and the specific culture, but the reasoning behind the rituals.
Euclid and Archimedes are two of the most important scientists and mathematicians of all time. Their achievements and discoveries play a pivotal role in today’s mathematics and sciences. A lot of the very basic principles and core subjects of mathematics, physics, engineering, inventing, and astronomy came from the innovations, inventions, and discoveries that were made by both Euclid and Archimedes.
Even though Aristotle’s contributions to mathematics are significantly important and lay a strong foundation in the study and view of the science, it is imperative to mention that Aristotle, in actuality, “never devoted a treatise to philosophy of mathematics” [5]. As aforementioned, even his books never truly leaned toward a specific philosophy on mathematics, but rather a form or manner in which to attempt to understand mathematics through certain truths.
Quest.nasa.gov, (2014). NASA Quest > Aerospace Team Online. [online] Available at: http://quest.nasa.gov/aero/planetary/archimedes.html [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014].
Born in the Netherlands, Daniel Bernoulli was one of the most well-known Bernoulli mathematicians. He contributed plenty to mathematics and advanced it, ahead of its time. His father, Johann, made him study medicine at first, as there was little money in mathematics, but eventually, Johann gave in and tutored Daniel in mathematics. Johann treated his son’s desire to lea...
The Scientific Revolution was sparked through Nicolaus Copernicusí unique use of mathematics. His methods developed from Greek astr...
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