Description
"Let no one ignorant of geometry enter here," Plato warned would-be philosophers. Mathematician Karl Sigmund agrees.
In The Waltz of Reason, he shows how mathematics and philosophy together have shaped our understanding of space, chance, logic, cooperation, voting, and the social contract. Sigmund shows how game theory is integral to moral philosophy, how statistics shaped the meaning of reason, and how the search for a logical basis for math leads to deep questions about the nature of truth itself. But this is no dry tome: Sigmund's wit and humour shine as brightly as his erudition.
The Waltz of Reason is an engrossing history of ideas as vibrant as a ballroom full of dancers, one that empowers as it entertains, following the complex and occasionally dizzying steps of the thinkers who have moulded our thought and founded our world.
About the Author
Karl Sigmund is a professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Vienna. One of the pioneers of evolutionary game theory, he has authored several other books on mathematics and philosophy, including Games of Life and Exact Thinking in Demented Times. He lives in Vienna, Austria.
Book Information
ISBN 9781541602694
Author Karl Sigmund
Format Hardback
Page Count 448
Imprint Basic Books
Publisher Basic Books
Weight(grams) 660g
Dimensions(mm) 238mm * 158mm * 40mm
