Ren{\'e} Thom: From mathematics to philosophy
History and Overview
2022-08-29 v1
Abstract
I discuss Ren{\'e} Thom's approach to philosophy based on his mathematical background. At the same time, I will highlight his connection with Aristotle, his criticism of the modern view of science as a predictive process, his ideas on mathematical education, his position with respect to the French school of mathematics that was dominent in his time and his relationship with the philosophical community. I will also touch upon the connections between Thom's ideas and those of Leibniz, Riemann, Freud and others. The last version of this paper will appear as a chapter in the book Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice (ed. Bharath Sriraman), Springer.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2208.12756,
title = {Ren{\'e} Thom: From mathematics to philosophy},
author = {Athanase Papadopoulos},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.12756},
year = {2022}
}