Skip to content

George Frederick James Temple on Mathematics

1901–1992 England

← All quotes by George Frederick James Temple

8 quotes

The dull and pedestrian researches of Todhunter on the histories of probability, the calculus of variations and the theory of elasticity will always preserve their value for the historiographer.

The historical approach introduces us personally to the great mathematicians and infuses a humane and genial spirit into what can be the most arid and abstract study.

Only by a study of the development of mathematics can its contemporary significance be understood.

The 'language theory' is inadequate as a description of the nature of mathematics.

The function of logic in mathematics is critical rather than constructive.

The history of mathematics throws little light on the psychology of mathematical invention.

During this century mathematics has been transformed...

The magnificent achievement of Bourbaki planned to present in an orderly sequence the whole of mathematics is already dated, and a new edition appears to need a complete revision based perhaps on category theory rather then on sets and logic.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: George Frederick James Temple (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.