Hegel and the Metaphysics of the Fluxional Calculus

Extract

The object of this paper is to consider the mathematical value of Hegel's discussion of the fluxional calculus. This discussion, as contained in several notes in the “Logik,” professes to evolve the true principle of the calculus in a form free from the inconsistencies of the usual processes, and to show how this principle may be rendered useful in the solution of problems. To clear the way for this new theory, Hegel engages in a sharp polemic against the expositions of several parts of the calculus given by Newton and others.