How Algebra became abstract: George Peacock & the birth of modern algebra

(England, 1830)

By: Assad Ebrahim, on April 10th, 2020

Topic: Education, Mathematics, Maths General Interest, Maths History, Maths Philosophy

In this article we look at the ideas of George Peacock whose 700-page opus A
Treatise on Algebra (1830) transformed classical algebra into its modern form as an
abstract symbolic science, free from the physical interpretation of quantity that had
previously restricted it.
Peacock’s Treatise laid the logical foundation for the new science (ch1-7) and rebuilt
on this foundation the entire mathematical corpus of the 17th & 18th centuries (ch8-
17) including combinatorics, probability, binomial theorem, polynomial roots,
primitive roots of unity, complex numbers, trigonometry, the algebraization of
geometry, logarithms, and simultaneous equations.
The context for Peacock’s work was the vigorous debates then ongoing at Cambridge
on the logical soundness of negative and imaginary numbers, and serious calls to
abolish negative numbers from the teaching of algebra in the university, an outcome
which for obvious reasons would seriously cripple the ability for English students to
advance. Peacock’s motivation was to remove the reason for the debate, by separating
universal arithmetic from symbolical algebra, as different subjects entirely
Peacock’s emphasis on uninterpreted operations as the foundation for algebra was
highly influential to a generation of British logicians (Boole, De Morgan, Jevons,
Venn)and algebraists (Cayley, Hamilton, Sylvester). These would go on to develop
symbolic logic, group theory, quaternions, and matrix analysis. Over the next fifteen
years Peacock rewrote and re-issued his Treatise in two separate volumes (1842/1845)
which then formed the basis of English algebra till the first quarter of the 1900s.
1. Historical context
Algebra in England prior to the 1800s had been an extension of Arithmetic with
operations that had physical interpretations. While symbols could be substituted for
specific quantities, they were required to be checked at each step in a derivation to
ensure they remained valid (e.g. respecting that a greater cannot be subtracted from a
lesser, etc.). This was a continuation of the physical interpretation of arithmetic and
algebra from its first emergence in Babylonian algebra consisting of cut-and-paste
geometric operations with physical meaning (c.2500 BCE) (Hoyrup, 2013, pp.13-
20) and Egyptian algebra of approx. the same period Rhind Papyrus where x is
denoted by the sign for heap, through to the Muslim mathematician al-Khawarismi
(c.830 CE) who designated the subject al-jebr wa al-muqabala, or restoring and
balancing quantities, or “al-jebr” (algebra), through to its arrival into Europe through
Latin translations of al-Khawarismi in the 1200s (e.g. Fibonacci’s Liber Abaci of
1202 AD). Yet the requirement for physical interpretation of quantity persisted, with
negative roots of equations were rejected as fictitious (Cardan 1500s), false (Descartes
1600s), meaningless (Newton 1600s), false (Carnot 1700s), and inconsistent or vague
(De Morgan 1800s). [Mpantes]
Algebraic considerations began to broaden during the 1500s based on the discoveries
of the Italian wranglers Tartaglia, Cardano, Ferrari who found the cubic and quartic
formulas, using imaginary numbers, and on Bombelli (1572) who first interpreted
them. From here, Algebra developed a symbolic virtuoso stream in the 1600-1700s
that led to the theory of series (Gregory, Taylor, MacLaurin), the differential calculus
(Barrow, Newton, Leibniz), and then to the prolific Euler in the mid-1700s whose use
of uninterpreted algebraic symbols led him to far-reaching discoveries in every aspect
of mathematics, in particular the algebraization of geometry through the remarkable
formula , unifying trigonometry
through infinite series and symbolic substitution of .

2. The Transition to Modern Abstract, Symbolical Mathematics

Peacock’s work was much discussed in the Cambridge and Royal Society circles, and
indeed it led directly to the publication by Boole of the Laws of Thought (1854) in
which the algebraic structure of propositional logic was discussed. Hamilton and the
quaternions were another instance in which removing the restrictions of arithmetic on
algebraic operations bore fruit. Grassmann in Germany did much the same in his
algebraization of geometry. Cayley, building equally upon this freedom, developed
matrix algebras, and Galois, who took this freedom to the ultimate step and
demonstrated categorically using algebra of permutations that there could be no
quintic formula, i.e. a fifth or higher degree polynomial cannot be guaranteed to have
a solution relying only upon arithmetical operations along with powers and roots,
leading to final resolution of the quintic problem (Impossibility of the Quintic) and
duplication of the cube (Impossibility of Duplication of the Cube).
The freeing of mathematics from classical interpretations was also seen in Geometry
where the parallel postulate of Euclidean geometry was relaxed and found to lead,
instead of to contradiction, to a new world of geometries (hyperbolic, elliptical) which
would lead to the Riemannian theory of manifolds and to Einstein’s theory of general
relativity.
In differential equations, Fourier found solutions to the heat equation using infinite
series of trigonometric functions, opening up many controversies. Attempting to
understand and resolve these led Cantor to invent the notion of infinite sets and pursue
their investigation leading to profound and paradoxical results about the sizes of
familiar sets of the number systems necessary for Geometry and Calculus.
The rapid advances across mathematics in the 1700s, in Algebra, Series, Calculus,
Differential Equations, Geometry led to reviews and freeing of mathematics from
classical interpreted constraints in the 1800s and the move to abstract, symbolical and
formal mathematics based on set theory has led to where we are today: the
establishment of abstract and formal viewpoint in all mathematical fields. Despite the
examination of foundations and the impossibility theorems of Godel in the early
1900s, the formal approach has prevailed in mathematics, with an adventurism and
pragmatism that has taken it forward every direction in both pure and applied
directions in the 2000s.
References
[Peacock/1830] A Treatise on Algebra (ebook), George Peacock, 1830. The 2nd
edition was completely rewritten in 2 vols separating vol 1. Arithmetical algebra
(1842) from vol 2. Symbolical algebra (1845) (ebook). Reviews were still favourable
100 years later! (1942) — 1830 Preface — two page summary
[Pycior/1981] George Peacock and the British Origins of Symbolical Algebra, 1981,
Historia Mathematica 8, 23-45
[Phillips] George Peacock and the Development of British Algebra 1800-1840, David
Phillips, Cambridge University Summer Research Mathematics
[Princeton/1892] On the Permanence of Equivalence, Mathematics Dept. Princeton
University, Annals of Mathematics, Vol.6, No.4, Jan 1892, pp.81-84
[Franci/2010] The History of Algebra in Italy in the 14th and 15th Centuries. Some
Remarks on Recent Historiography. Raffaella Franci, 2010, Actes D’Historia de la
Ciencia i de la Tecnica, vol 3 (2), p.175-194
[Steele/1922] The Earliest Arithmetics in English, Robert Steele, 1922
[Buee/1806] Memoir on Imaginary Quantities (FRENCH), Adrien Buee,
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol.96, 1806. This was
one of the first observations of the geometrical interpretation of complex numbers.
[Warren/1828] Treatise on Geometrical Representation of Square Roots of Negative
Quantities, 1828
[Gregory/1838] Foundations of Algebra: On the Real Nature of Symbolical Algebra,
1838, Duncan Gregory, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, in The
Mathematical Writings of Duncan F. Gregory, William Walton, 1865
Grassmann/1844, extending Leibniz concept of a spatial geometry to a symbolical
elaboration of vector geometry and vector spaces. He describes how he was led there
in his 1844 foreward. Later Universal Algebra
[Kleiner/1986] The Evolution of Group Theory: A Brief Survey, Israel Kleiner, 1986,
Mathematics Magazine, Vol.59, No.4, October 1986
NAMA : RIZKIYAN HADI
NIM : 8216172007
KELAS :B–2 PENDIDIKAN MATEMATIKA
MATA KULIAH : BAHASA INGGRIS MATEMATIKA
NAMA DOSEN : Dr. W. RAJAGUKGUK, M.Pd

Bagaimana Aljabar menjadi abstrak: George Peacock & kelahiran aljabar modern
(Inggris, 1830)
Oleh: Assad Ebrahim, pada 10 April 2020)

Dalam artikel ini kita melihat ide-ide George Peacock yang karya 700
halamannya A Treatise on Algebra (1830) mengubah aljabar klasik menjadi bentuk
modernnya sebagai ilmu simbolik abstrak, bebas dari interpretasi fisik kuantitas yang
sebelumnya membatasinya. Risalah Peacock meletakkan dasar logis untuk ilmu baru
(bab1-7) dan membangun kembali di atas fondasi ini seluruh korpus matematika abad
ke-17 & ke-18 (bab8-17) termasuk kombinatorik, probabilitas, teorema binomial, akar
polinomial, akar primitif kesatuan , bilangan kompleks, trigonometri, aljabar geometri,
logaritma, dan persamaan simultan. Konteks untuk karya Peacock adalah perdebatan
sengit yang kemudian berlangsung di Cambridge tentang keabsahan logis bilangan
negatif dan imajiner, dan seruan serius untuk menghapuskan bilangan negatif dari
pengajaran aljabar di universitas, sebuah hasil yang karena alasan yang jelas akan
sangat melumpuhkan kemampuan. bagi siswa bahasa Inggris untuk maju. Motivasi
Peacock adalah untuk menghilangkan alasan perdebatan, dengan memisahkan
aritmatika universal dari aljabar simbolis, sebagai subjek yang sama sekali berbeda.
Penekanan Peacock pada operasi yang tidak ditafsirkan sebagai dasar aljabar
sangat berpengaruh bagi generasi ahli logika Inggris (Boole, De Morgan, Jevons,
Venn) dan ahli aljabar (Cayley, Hamilton, Sylvester). Ini akan terus mengembangkan
logika simbolik, teori grup, quaternions, dan analisis matriks. Selama lima belas tahun
berikutnya Peacock menulis ulang dan menerbitkan kembali Risalahnya dalam dua
volume terpisah (1842/1845) yang kemudian menjadi dasar aljabar Inggris hingga
kuartal pertama tahun 1900-an.
1. Konteks sejarah
Aljabar di Inggris sebelum tahun 1800-an telah menjadi perpanjangan dari
Aritmatika dengan operasi yang memiliki interpretasi fisik. Sementara simbol dapat
diganti untuk jumlah tertentu, mereka harus diperiksa pada setiap langkah dalam
derivasi untuk memastikan mereka tetap valid (misalnya menghormati bahwa yang
lebih besar tidak dapat dikurangi dari yang lebih kecil, dll.). Ini merupakan kelanjutan
dari interpretasi fisik aritmatika dan aljabar dari kemunculan pertamanya di aljabar
Babilonia yang terdiri dari operasi geometris potong-tempel dengan makna fisik
(c.2500 SM) (Hoyrup, 2013, hlm.13-20) dan bahasa Mesir aljabar kira-kira. periode
yang sama Papirus Rhind di mana x dilambangkan dengan tanda tumpukan, hingga
matematikawan Muslim al-Khawarismi (c.830 M) yang menetapkan subjek al-jebr wa
al-muqabala, atau memulihkan dan menyeimbangkan kuantitas, atau “al -jebr”
(aljabar), hingga kedatangannya ke Eropa melalui terjemahan Latin al-Khawarismi
pada tahun 1200-an (misalnya Liber Abaci Fibonacci tahun 1202 M). Namun
persyaratan untuk interpretasi fisik kuantitas tetap ada, dengan akar persamaan negatif
ditolak sebagai fiktif (Cardan 1500-an), salah (Descartes 1600-an), tidak berarti
(Newton 1600-an), salah (Carnot 1700-an), dan tidak konsisten atau kabur (De
Morgan 1800-an ). Pertimbangan aljabar mulai meluas selama tahun 1500-an
berdasarkan penemuan pegulat Italia Tartaglia, Cardano, Ferrari yang menemukan
rumus kubik dan kuartik, menggunakan bilangan imajiner, dan pada Bombelli (1572)
yang pertama kali menafsirkannya. Dari sini, Aljabar mengembangkan aliran virtuoso
simbolis pada tahun 1600-1700-an yang mengarah pada teori deret (Gregory, Taylor,
MacLaurin), kalkulus diferensial (Barrow, Newton, Leibniz), dan kemudian ke Euler
yang produktif di pertengahan tahun. 1700-an yang menggunakan simbol aljabar yang
tidak diinterpretasikan membawanya ke penemuan yang luas dalam setiap aspek
matematika, khususnya aljabarisasi geometri melalui rumus yang luar biasa

, pemersatu trigonometri melalui deret

tak terbatas dan substitusi simbolis dari .

2. Transisi ke Abstrak Modern Serta Matematika Simbolis

Karya Peacock banyak dibahas di kalangan Cambridge dan Royal Society, dan
memang mengarah langsung ke publikasi oleh Boole of the Laws of Thought (1854)
di mana struktur aljabar logika proposisional dibahas. Hamilton dan quaternions
adalah contoh lain di mana menghilangkan batasan aritmatika pada operasi aljabar
membuahkan hasil. Grassmann di Jerman melakukan banyak hal yang sama dalam
aljabarnya geometri. Cayley, membangun secara merata di atas kebebasan ini,
mengembangkan aljabar matriks, dan Galois, yang membawa kebebasan ini ke
langkah terakhir dan menunjukkan dengan pasti menggunakan aljabar permutasi
bahwa tidak mungkin ada rumus quintic, yaitu polinomial derajat kelima atau lebih
tinggi tidak dapat dijamin memiliki solusi hanya mengandalkan operasi aritmatika
bersama dengan kekuatan dan akar, yang mengarah ke penyelesaian akhir dari
masalah quintic (Kemustahilan Quintic) dan duplikasi kubus (Kemustahilan Duplikasi
Cube).Pembebasan matematika dari interpretasi klasik juga terlihat dalam Geometri di
mana postulat paralel geometri Euclidean santai dan ditemukan mengarah, bukannya
kontradiksi, ke dunia geometri baru (hiperbolik, elips) yang akan mengarah pada teori
Riemannian tentang manifold dan teori relativitas umum Einstein. Dalam persamaan
diferensial, Fourier menemukan solusi untuk persamaan panas menggunakan deret tak
hingga fungsi trigonometri, membuka banyak kontroversi. Mencoba untuk memahami
dan menyelesaikan ini dipimpin Cantor untuk menciptakan gagasan tentang himpunan
tak terbatas dan mengejar penyelidikan mereka yang mengarah ke hasil yang
mendalam dan paradoks tentang ukuran set akrab sistem bilangan yang diperlukan
untuk Geometri dan Kalkulus.
Kemajuan pesat di seluruh matematika pada tahun 1700-an, dalam Aljabar,
Seri, Kalkulus, Persamaan Diferensial, Geometri menyebabkan tinjauan dan
pembebasan matematika dari kendala yang ditafsirkan klasik pada tahun 1800-an dan
perpindahan ke matematika abstrak, simbolis dan formal berdasarkan teori himpunan
telah menyebabkan ke tempat kita sekarang: pembentukan sudut pandang abstrak dan
formal di semua bidang matematika. Terlepas dari pemeriksaan fondasi dan teorema
kemustahilan Godel di awal 1900-an, pendekatan formal telah berlaku dalam
matematika, dengan petualangan dan pragmatisme yang telah membawanya ke segala
arah baik dalam arah murni maupun terapan di tahun 2000-an.

References :
[Peacock/1830] A Treatise on Algebra (ebook), George Peacock, 1830. The 2nd
edition was completely rewritten in 2 vols separating vol 1. Arithmetical algebra
(1842) from vol 2. Symbolical algebra (1845) (ebook). Reviews were still favourable
100 years later! (1942) — 1830 Preface — two page summary
[Pycior/1981] George Peacock and the British Origins of Symbolical Algebra, 1981,
Historia Mathematica 8, 23-45
[Phillips] George Peacock and the Development of British Algebra 1800-1840, David
Phillips, Cambridge University Summer Research Mathematics
[Princeton/1892] On the Permanence of Equivalence, Mathematics Dept. Princeton
University, Annals of Mathematics, Vol.6, No.4, Jan 1892, pp.81-84
[Franci/2010] The History of Algebra in Italy in the 14th and 15th Centuries. Some
Remarks on Recent Historiography. Raffaella Franci, 2010, Actes D’Historia de la
Ciencia i de la Tecnica, vol 3 (2), p.175-194
[Steele/1922] The Earliest Arithmetics in English, Robert Steele, 1922
[Buee/1806] Memoir on Imaginary Quantities (FRENCH), Adrien Buee,
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol.96, 1806. This was
one of the first observations of the geometrical interpretation of complex numbers.
[Warren/1828] Treatise on Geometrical Representation of Square Roots of Negative
Quantities, 1828
[Gregory/1838] Foundations of Algebra: On the Real Nature of Symbolical Algebra,
1838, Duncan Gregory, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, in The
Mathematical Writings of Duncan F. Gregory, William Walton, 1865
Grassmann/1844, extending Leibniz concept of a spatial geometry to a symbolical
elaboration of vector geometry and vector spaces. He describes how he was led there
in his 1844 foreward. Later Universal Algebra
[Kleiner/1986] The Evolution of Group Theory: A Brief Survey, Israel Kleiner,
1986, Mathematics Magazine, Vol.59, No.4, October 1986