The introduction of differential calculus in XVIIIth-century Spain. Tomàs Cerdà and the theory of fluxions

Authors

  • Joaquim Berenguer Clarià

Keywords:

Tomàs Cerdà, XVIIIth century, Fluxions, Differential Calculus

Abstract

Our research concerns eighteenth century Spain and is focused on the development and diffusion of Differential and Integral Calculus. Our thesis focus on the reception of this new calculus into Spain, through Tomàs Cerdà (1715-1791). Cerdà was a Catalan Jesuit devoted to the teaching of mathematics in Barcelona and Madrid, in the mid-eighteenth century, and who published several mathematical texts and prepared many others for future publication. One of these manuscripts is a treatise on Differential Calculus, the Tratado de Fluxiones, which is an adaptation of another book, The Doctrine and Application of Fluxions (1750) by an English mathematician, Thomas Simpson (1710-1761). Thus, the aim of this paper centers on the analysis of the role of Cerdà in the introduction of Differential and Integral Calculus in eighteenth Century Spain, by means his Tratado de Fluxiones.

Keywords: Tomàs Cerdà, XVIIIth century, Fluxions, Differential Calculus

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Vol. 11 (2018)

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Articles

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