Introduction to Mathematical Thinking

This enlightening survey of mathematical concept formation holds a natural appeal to philosophically minded readers, and no formal training in mathematics is necessary to appreciate its clear exposition of mathematic fundamentals. Rather than a system of theorems with completely developed proofs or examples of applications, readers will encounter a coherent presentation of mathematical ideas that begins with the natural numbers and basic laws of arithmetic and progresses to the problems of the real-number continuum and concepts of the calculus.Contents include examinations of the various types of numbers and a criticism of the extension of numbers; arithmetic, geometry, and the rigorous construction of the theory of integers; the rational numbers, the foundation of the arithmetic of natural numbers, and the rigorous construction of elementary arithmetic. Advanced topics encompass the principle of complete induction; the limit and point of accumulation; operating with sequences and differential quotient; remarkable curves; real numbers and ultrareal numbers; and complex and hypercomplex numbers.In issues of mathematical philosophy, the author explores basic theoretical differences that have been a source of debate among the most prominent scholars and on which contemporary mathematicians remain divided. "e;With exceptional clarity, but with no evasion of essential ideas, the author outlines the fundamental structure of mathematics."e; ? Carl B. Boyer, Brooklyn College. 27 figures. Index.