History of Calculus - Essay Example

of the Mathematics of the Concerned 24 March History of Calculus It is indeed true that the discovery of calculus does happen to be one of the amazing and praiseworthy things facilitated by human thought and intellect. The history of calculus well illustrates its gradual progression from Realist thinking that had its flaws and lacunas to Nominalist thinking that evinced an immense power as far as the solving of the problems of calculus is concerned. While delving on the history of calculus, the thing that needs to be noticed is that the history of calculus is affiliated to varied phases and steps.

The onus for the discovery of calculus is endowed to two amazing mathematicians who were Isaac Newton, a noteworthy British mathematician and scientist, and the self taught scholar of mathematics, the renowned German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz, in the latter half of the 17th century (Ferreiros & Gray 22). The issues as to which mathematician should be held responsible for the discovery of calculus, the scholars happen to be divided. It was both Newton and Leibniz who registered noteworthy discoveries in calculus to be known as being the originators of calculus.

As far as Newton’s discovery of calculus is concerned, it was more of an outcome of the need for a practical use of calculus, as he needed a discipline like calculus to solve the pressing problems in geometry and physics (Ferreiros & Gray 72). It was Newton’s endeavor to use calculus as a mathematical discipline that facilitated the solution of the scientific problems he delved on that made calculus possible. In contrast when one considers Leibniz, it was his fascination pertaining to the tangent line problem that made calculus possible (Ferreiros & Gray 72).

The notion as to the creation of calculus gave way to one of the most ardently contested rivalries in the world of mathematics that was between Newton and Leibniz. However, the thing that needs to be understood is that calculus as people know it today is the outcome of the work of a number of mathematicians. Although Newton published his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematics on 5 July 1687, yet the later mathematicians did make many contributions to calculus. The later day addition to the principle of calculus like differential equations and calculus of variations were published a little time after Newton and Leibniz did register their contributions, by mathematicians like Euler, Jakob and Johann Bernoulli (Ferreiros & Gray 72).

It was the manuscript published by Bishop Berkley that enunciated the limitations inherent in the works of Leibniz and Newton. These observations were indeed critical as they pressed on the need for making calculus a mathematical science rather than being based on faith and theology. The mathematicians did happen to be aware of this; still they evinced an immense interest in using calculus to solve problems. Various mathematicians like Lagrange, Jacobi, Fourier, Green, and Gauge extended the scope of calculus and made it more refined to be eventually applied to solve problems in physics as well as celestial mechanics (Ferreiros & Gray 410) .

Still the thing that needs to be noted is that calculus as a mathematical discipline did make immense contribution to almost all the facets of modern life and science. It is a discovery that greatly contributed to mathematical and scientific development and progress. Works CitedFerreiros, J., & J.J. Gray. The Architecture of Modern Mathematics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.