Some Historical and Historiographical Questions on the Debate between Analysts and Synthesists in the Neapolitan State, 1780-1860 (original) (raw)
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Actes D Historia De La Ciencia I De La Tecnica, 2010
The solution of the algebraic equations of third and fourth degree by Italian algebraists in the first half of the 16 th century is considered the beginning of the development of modern mathematics. These results have their roots in Italian vernacular algebra that was taught in Abbacus School and written in a chapter of abbacus treatises since the beginning of the 14 th century. In recent years many of these treatises has been published and studied. Particular attention has been paid to the origins of Italian vernacular algebra that does not seem linked to al-Khwarizmi's and Fibonacci's tradition. In this paper we make a survey of the main 14 th century treatises and give some contribution to the problem of the origins.