Project Details
Projekt
Euclid in the Modern Age: A History of Cross-Cultural Transmissions, Translations and Transformations of the Elements
Applicant
Angela Axworthy, Ph.D.
Subject Area
History of Science
Term
since 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 530000455
Euclid in the Modern Age aims at providing a wide-ranging investigation of the cultural, social, scientific and epistemological impact of the diffusion of Euclid’s Elements, the most important and widely circulated work of classical mathematics, in Europe from the 16th to the 19th century. By studying its transformations throughout its editions, translations and commentaries and its pedagogical and practical uses, the international research team involved in the project (based at Paris and Wuppertal) seeks to establish an overarching and interdisciplinary narrative regarding the modern tradition of the Elements and its unparalleled impact on the history of science, knowledge and culture. The main objectives of the project are: (1) the analysis of the transformations of the text and diagrams of the Elements throughout its printed tradition and the way these reflected changes in the history of mathematics and of epistemology in the modern era; (2) the study of the diffusion and uses of the Elements in pedagogical and professional contexts in early modern Europe and their impact on the transformation of Euclid’s text; (3) the establishment of an open-access database to navigate the printed editions of Euclid’s Elements. The analysis in (1) will show how the logical and epistemological constraints that governed the mathematical discourse (i.e. its principles, the structure of its demonstrations and its diagrams) evolved over time and transformed Euclid’s text and its role in the definition of the ideal of scientific knowledge. The analysis in (2) will show how the interaction between the Elements and practical mathematical knowledge, as well as the diffusion of Euclid’s work in vernacular languages throughout Europe (which was crucial to its transmission within lay and professional contexts), impacted the content and uses of the Elements as well as the image of Euclidean mathematics in different social, institutional and cultural contexts. The study of the adaptation and promotion of Euclid’s Elements according to new pedagogical standards will provide a better insight on the changes operated in early modern Europe in mathematics and theories of education, as on the changing place held by mathematics among the sciences. The last objective (3) will be constituted according to the principles of “green open access” and will allow scholars as well as non-experts to gain a both detailed and large overview of how Euclid’s Elements evolved over time and to obtain quick answers to specific questions on the printed European Euclidean tradition.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
International Connection
France, Spain, United Kingdom
Partner Organisation
Agence Nationale de la Recherche / The French National Research Agency
Co-Investigator
Professor Dr. Volker Remmert
