Mathematics and religion : our languages of sign and symbol / Javier Leach.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leach, Javier, 1942-

Series:

Templeton science and religion series.

Templeton science and religion series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mathematics.

Religion and science.

Signs and symbols.

Physical Description:

xi, 188 p. : ill.

Place of Publication:

West Conshohocken, Pa. : Templeton Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Mathematics and Religion: Our Languages of Sign and Symbol is the sixth title published in the Templeton Science and Religion Series, in which scientists from a wide range of fields distill their experience and knowledge into brief tours of their respective specialties. In this volume, Javier Leach, a mathematician and Jesuit priest, leads a fascinating study of the historical development of mathematical language and its influence on the evolution of metaphysical and theological languages. Leach traces three historical moments of change in this evolution: the introduction of the deductive method in Greece, the use of mathematics as a language of science in modern times, and the formalization of mathematical languages in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As he unfolds this fascinating history, Leach notes the striking differences and interrelations between the two languages of science and religion. Until now there has been little reflection on these similarities and differences, or about how both languages can complement and enrich each other.

Contents:

Mathematics and natural science

Metaphysical language

Origins of mathematics

Euclid and beyond

Dawn of science

Mathematics formalized

Propositional logic

Language and meaning

Science, language, and religion.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [173]-178) and index.

ISBN:

9786613282415

9781283282413

1283282410

9781599473864

1599473860

OCLC:

753480412