Related papers: Topology and biology: From Aristotle to Thom
In this paper we sketch how some fundamental concepts of modern topology (as well as logic and category theory) can be understood philosophically in the light of Hegel's Science Logic as well how modern topological concepts can provide…
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…
The aim of this paper is i) to argue for the feasibility and fruitfulness of a balance between the phenomenological method seeking intuitive evidence and the axiomatic-deductive method and ii) that there should be a mutual understanding…
The study of the topology of polynomial maps originates from classical questions in affine geometry, such as the Jacobian Conjecture, as well as from works of Whitney, Thom, and Mather in the 1950-70s on diffeomorphism types of smooth maps.…
One of the prime motivation for topology was Homotopy theory, which captures the general idea of a continuous transformation between two entities, which may be spaces or maps. In later decades, an algebraic formulation of topology was…
This is an article on the interaction between topology and physics which will appear in 1998 in a book called: A History of Topology, edited by Ioan James and published by Elsevier-North Holland.
Some of the basic concepts of topology are explored through known physics problems. This helps us in two ways, one, in motivating the definitions and the concepts, and two, in showing that topological analysis leads to a clearer…
This is an introduction to type theory, synthetic topology, and homotopy type theory from a category-theoretic and topological point of view, written as a chapter for the book "New Spaces for Mathematics and Physics" (ed. Gabriel Catren and…
This book is expository and is in Russian. It is shown how in the course of solution of interesting geometric problems (close to applications) naturally appear main notions of algebraic topology (homology groups, obstructions and…
It is often stated that there are no laws in biology, where everything is contingent and could have been otherwise, being solely the result of historical accidents. Furthermore, the customary introduction of fundamental biological entities…
We consider several appearances of the notion of convexity in Greek antiquity, more specifically in mathematics and optics, in the writings of Aristotle, and in art. The final version of this article will appear in the book `Geometry in…
A new methodological approach for the study of topology for shapes made of arrangements of lines, planes or solids is presented. Topologies for shapes are traditionally built on the classical theory of point-sets. In this paper, topologies…
Within the general discussion of space and its dimensionality, Aristotle's position is of the greatest relevance, as one will have the opportunity to argue and discuss in this article.
Topology transcends boundaries that conventionally delineate physical, biological and engineering sciences. Our ability to mathematically describe topology, combined with our access to precision tracking and manipulation approaches, has…
The chapter provides an introduction to the basic concepts of Algebraic Topology with an emphasis on motivation from applications in the physical sciences. It finishes with a brief review of computational work in algebraic topology,…
By introducing various topologies on the homotopy groups of a topological space, some researchers make these well known notions in algebraic topology more useful and powerful. In this paper, first we recall and review some known topologies…
Topology, a well-established concept in mathematics, has nowadays become essential to describe condensed matter. At its core are chiral electron states on the bulk, surfaces and edges of the condensed matter systems, in which spin and…
This paper, in French, is a celebration of Max Dehn, and an essay of describing some of his results published in the beginning of the 1910's, and their offspring. It has been written up for a winter school in Les Diablerets, March 7-12,…
Topos theory occupies a singular place in contemporary mathematics: born from Grothendieck's algebraic geometry, it has emerged as a unifying language for geometry, topology, algebra, and logic. This book offers a progressive introduction…
This article proposes a fresh and direct reading of foundational texts of philosophy and aims at bringing back the inflamed debates that are contemporaneous with the birth of Greek axiomatics, and indeed at understanding what is timeless in…