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(2002) Synthese 133 (1-2).
Leibniz's rigorous foundation of infinitesimal geometry by means of Riemannian sums
Eberhard Knobloch
pp. 59-73
In 1675, Leibniz elaborated his longest mathematical treatise he everwrote, the treatise ``On the arithmetical quadrature of the circle, theellipse, and the hyperbola. A corollary is a trigonometry withouttables''. It was unpublished until 1993, and represents a comprehensive discussion of infinitesimalgeometry. In this treatise, Leibniz laid the rigorous foundation of thetheory of infinitely small and infinite quantities or, in other words,of the theory of quantified indivisibles. In modern terms Leibnizintroduced `Riemannian sums' in order to demonstrate the integrabilityof continuous functions. The article deals with this demonstration,with Leibniz's handling of infinitely small and infinite quantities,and with a general theorem regarding hyperboloids.
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Knobloch, E. (2002). Leibniz's rigorous foundation of infinitesimal geometry by means of Riemannian sums. Synthese 133 (1-2), pp. 59-73.
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