Mathematical knowledge and the interplay of practices, by José Ferreirós

Abstract

nating, and covers ground that has not been dealt with in any great detail elsewhere (or at least not in English). The range of topics dealt with, from applied mathematics to mathematical logic, provides what feels like a comprehensive view of the interaction between the two mathematical communities in question. Moreover, the focus on individuals, and the extensive use of their correspondence, serves to bring this interaction to life. As in any such collection of essays, the quality of writing varies from chapter to chapter, but the contributions to the book complement each other nicely, with the result that a well-rounded picture emerges of the links between two significant sections of the European mathematical community in the later years of the nineteenth century, and the early part of the twentieth.