The story of geometry is the story of mathematics itself: Euclidean geometry was the first branch of mathematics to be systematically studied and placed on a firm logical foundation, and it is the prototype for the axiomatic method that lies at the foundation of modern mathematics. It has been taught to students for more than two millennia as a mode of logical thought. This book tells the story of how the axiomatic method has progressed from Euclid's time to ours, as a way of understanding what mathematics is, how we read and evaluate mathematical arguments, and why mathematics has achieved the level of certainty it has. It is designed primarily for advanced undergraduates who plan to teach secondary school geometry, but it should also provide something of interest to anyone who wishes to understand geometry and the axiomatic method better. It introduces a modern, rigorous, axiomatic treatment of Euclidean and (to a lesser extent) non-Euclidean geometries, offering students ample opportunities to practice reading and writing proofs while at the same time developing most of the concrete geometric relationships that secondary teachers will need to know in the classroom. -- P. [4] of cover.

Focusing methodologically on those historical aspects that are relevant to supporting intuition in axiomatic approaches to geometry, the book develops systematic and modern approaches to the three core aspects of axiomatic geometry: Euclidean, non-Euclidean and projective. Historically, axiomatic geometry marks the origin of formalized mathematical activity. It is in this discipline that most historically famous problems can be found, the solutions of which have led to various presently very active domains of research, especially in algebra. The recognition of the coherence of two-by-two contradictory axiomatic systems for geometry (like one single parallel, no parallel at all, several parallels) has led to the emergence of mathematical theories based on an arbitrary system of axioms, an essential feature of contemporary mathematics. This is a fascinating book for all those who teach or study axiomatic geometry, and who are interested in the history of geometry or who want to see a complete proof of one of the famous problems encountered, but not solved, during their studies: circle squaring, duplication of the cube, trisection of the angle, construction of regular polygons, construction of models of non-Euclidean geometries, etc. It also provides hundreds of figures that support intuition. Through 35 centuries of the history of geometry, discover the birth and follow the evolution of those innovative ideas that allowed humankind to develop so many aspects of contemporary mathematics. Understand the various levels of rigor which successively established themselves through the centuries. Be amazed, as mathematicians of the 19th century were, when observing that both an axiom and its contradiction can be chosen as a valid basis for developing a mathematical theory. Pass through the door of this incredible world of axiomatic mathematical theories!

This early work by David Hilbert was originally published in the early 20th century and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. David Hilbert was born on the 23rd January 1862, in a Province of Prussia. Hilbert is recognised as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of geometry. He also formulated the theory of Hilbert spaces, one of the foundations of functional analysis.

This book offers a unique opportunity to understand the essence of one of the great thinkers of western civilization. A guided reading of Euclid's Elements leads to a critical discussion and rigorous modern treatment of Euclid's geometry and its more recent descendants, with complete proofs. Topics include the introduction of coordinates, the theory of area, history of the parallel postulate, the various non-Euclidean geometries, and the regular and semi-regular polyhedra.

Geometry has been an essential element in the study of mathematics since antiquity. Traditionally, we have also learned formal reasoning by studying Euclidean geometry. In this book, David Clark develops a modern axiomatic approach to this ancient subject, both in content and presentation. Mathematically, Clark has chosen a new set of axioms that draw on a modern understanding of set theory and logic, the real number continuum and measure theory, none of which were available in Euclid's time. The result is a development of the standard content of Euclidean geometry with the mathematical precision of Hilbert's foundations of geometry. In particular, the book covers all the topics listed in the Common Core State Standards for high school synthetic geometry. The presentation uses a guided inquiry, active learning pedagogy. Students benefit from the axiomatic development because they themselves solve the problems and prove the theorems with the instructor serving as a guide and mentor. Students are thereby empowered with the knowledge that they can solve problems on their own without reference to authority. This book, written for an undergraduate axiomatic geometry course, is particularly well suited for future secondary school teachers. In the interest of fostering a greater awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and everyday life, MSRI and the AMS are publishing books in the Mathematical Circles Library series as a service to young people, their parents and teachers, and the mathematics profession.

Bibliotheca Mathematica: A Series of Monographs on Pure and Applied Mathematics, Volume V: Axiomatic Projective Geometry, Second Edition focuses on the principles, operations, and theorems in axiomatic projective geometry, including set theory, incidence propositions, collineations, axioms, and coordinates. The publication first elaborates on the axiomatic method, notions from set theory and algebra, analytic projective geometry, and incidence propositions and coordinates in the plane. Discussions focus on ternary fields attached to a given projective plane, homogeneous coordinates, ternary field and axiom system, projectivities between lines, Desargues' proposition, and collineations. The book takes a look at incidence propositions and coordinates in space. Topics include coordinates of a point, equation of a plane, geometry over a given division ring, trivial axioms and propositions, sixteen points proposition, and homogeneous coordinates. The text examines the fundamental proposition of projective geometry and order, including cyclic order of the projective line, order and coordinates, geometry over an ordered ternary field, cyclically ordered sets, and fundamental proposition. The manuscript is a valuable source of data for mathematicians and researchers interested in axiomatic projective geometry.

The Trilogy intends to introduce the reader to the multiple complementary aspects of geometry, paying attention to the historical birth and growth of the ideas and results, and concluding with a contemporary presentation of the various topics considered. Three essentially independent volumes approach geometry via the axiomatic, the algebraic and the differential points of view. The “ruler and compass” approach to geometry, developed by the Greek mathematicians of the Antiquity, remained the only reference in Geometry – and even in Mathematics -- for more than two millenniums. The fruitless efforts for solving the so-called “classical problems” of Greek geometry lead eventually to a deeper reflection on the axiomatic bases of geometry, and in particular to the discovery of projective geometry and non-Euclidean geometries. During the Renaissance, mathematicians start liberating themselves from the “ruler and compass” dogma and use algebraic techniques to investigate geometric situations. The nineteenth century, with the birth of linear algebra and the theory of polynomials, opens new doors and in particular, the fascinating world of algebraic curves. The introduction of differential calculus during the eighteenth century allows widening considerably the range of curves and surfaces considered. The notion of curvature –under multiple forms -- imposes itself as an essential tool for studying the properties of curves and surfaces. And a keen study of some geometrical properties of surfaces gives rise to the theory of algebraic topology. This trilogy is of interest to all those who have to teach or study geometry and need to have a good global overview of the numerous facets of this fascinating topic. It provides both the intuitive and the technical ingredients needed to find one’s way through Euclidean, non-Euclidean, projective, algebraic or differential geometry at a high level.

This two-volume monograph obtains fundamental notions and results of the standard differential geometry of smooth (CINFINITY) manifolds, without using differential calculus. Here, the sheaf-theoretic character is emphasised. This has theoretical advantages such as greater perspective, clarity and unification, but also practical benefits ranging from elementary particle physics, via gauge theories and theoretical cosmology (`differential spaces'), to non-linear PDEs (generalised functions). Thus, more general applications, which are no longer `smooth' in the classical sense, can be coped with. The treatise might also be construed as a new systematic endeavour to confront the ever-increasing notion that the `world around us is far from being smooth enough'. Audience: This work is intended for postgraduate students and researchers whose work involves differential geometry, global analysis, analysis on manifolds, algebraic topology, sheaf theory, cohomology, functional analysis or abstract harmonic analysis.