{"title":"Truth but not science? George Berkeley and the politics of mathematical authority in the <i>Analyst</i> Controversy.","authors":"Julia Tomasson","doi":"10.1080/00033790.2025.2538447","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article reframes the <i>Analyst</i> Controversy, incited by George Berkeley's incendiary tract <i>The Analyst: A Discourse Addressed to an Infidel Mathematician</i> (1734), as not merely a debate about Newtonian fluxions but as a conflict over epistemic authority and competing ideas and ideals of reason in the Age of Reason. While often treated as a technical episode in the history of calculus, the controversy also reveals deeper tensions about the legitimate production of mathematical knowledge and the status of its truths. By situating the controversy in the broader social and political context of Augustan Britain, this article argues that Berkeley's critique challenged not only the foundations of Newtonian mathematics but also the Lockean social epistemology and Whig ideologies of order in which they were embedded.</p>","PeriodicalId":8086,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Science","volume":" ","pages":"528-585"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of Science","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2025.2538447","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/8/20 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
This article reframes the Analyst Controversy, incited by George Berkeley's incendiary tract The Analyst: A Discourse Addressed to an Infidel Mathematician (1734), as not merely a debate about Newtonian fluxions but as a conflict over epistemic authority and competing ideas and ideals of reason in the Age of Reason. While often treated as a technical episode in the history of calculus, the controversy also reveals deeper tensions about the legitimate production of mathematical knowledge and the status of its truths. By situating the controversy in the broader social and political context of Augustan Britain, this article argues that Berkeley's critique challenged not only the foundations of Newtonian mathematics but also the Lockean social epistemology and Whig ideologies of order in which they were embedded.
期刊介绍：
Annals of Science , launched in 1936, publishes work on the history of science, technology and medicine, covering developments from classical antiquity to the late 20th century. The Journal has a global reach, both in terms of the work that it publishes, and also in terms of its readership. The editors particularly welcome submissions from authors in Asia, Africa and South America.
Each issue contains research articles, and a comprehensive book reviews section, including essay reviews on a group of books on a broader level. Articles are published in both English and French, and the Journal welcomes proposals for special issues on relevant topics.
The Editors and Publisher are committed to supporting early career researchers, and award an annual prize to the best submission from current doctoral students, or those awarded a doctorate in the past four years.
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