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Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 6:00pm

Eugene Bowman

Penn State Harrisburg

Location

Villanova University

103 Mendel Hall

Light supper available at 6 p.m. for $10 (optional)

In 1734 Bishop George Berkeley published "The Analyst; or A Discourse Addressed to an Infidel Mathematician," wherein he, quite famously and in some cases correctly, criticized Newton´s "Doctrine of Fluxions." Maclaurin´s 1742 book "The Elements of the Method at Fluxions" is usually taken to be the definitive Newtonian response to Berkeley. But there were earlier attempts to clarify and/or rigorize Newton. One was Benjamin Robins´ "Treatise on Fluxions" published only one year after Berkeley. In his introduction Robins explains his purpose: "For though Sir Isaac Newton has very distinctly explained... these subjects... yet as the great author´s great brevity has made a more diffusive illustration not altogeher unnecessary; (1) have here endeavored to consider more at large each of these methods; whereby, I hope, it will appear that they have all the accuracy of the strictest mathematical demonstration." That is, Robins presents his text as simply "filling in the blanks" left by Newton. I will examine some key theorems/proofs from Robins´ text.