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Analysis, mathematical
(2,335 words)

1. Genesis of the term

The term analysis goes back to the ancient Greek distinction between analysis and synthesis. It signifies a mathematical procedure, used especially in geometry, by which the outcome sought is initially assumed as given, and then a process of reverse working pursued until something already known is encountered (Arithmetica universalis). The idea of analysis was used from the end of the 16th to the …

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Jahnke, Hans Niels, “Analysis, mathematical”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_016819>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160321



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