Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2410.09553

Bourbaki, or How Anatole France Reinvented Existential Quantification

Fouad Zinoun
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The present document is a mathematical-literary fiction, commemorating the centenary of the death of Anatole France (April 16, 1844 - October 12, 1924) and which, at the same time, pays tribute to Nicolas Bourbaki and his "Godparents". Strange as it may seem, the connection between the great man of letters and the legendary mathematician is thought out through a famous satirical tale, where Anatole France's Putois has given way to Andr\'e Weil's Bourbaki ! The old philosophical question about the conditions of existence and modes of being is then raised again, to the extent of questioning the real mathematical meaning of what we used to symbolize by a backwards "E" ! -- Il s'agit d'une fiction math\'ematico-litt\'eraire, comm\'emorant le centenaire de la mort d'Anatole France (16 avril 1844 - 12 octobre 1924) et qui, par la m\^eme occasion, rend hommage \`a Nicolas Bourbaki et \`a ses "Godparents". Aussi \'etrange que cela puisse para\^itre, la mise en relation du grand homme de lettres avec le math\'ematicien l\'egendaire est pens\'ee \`a travers un c\'el\`ebre conte satirique, o\`u le personnage de Putois d'Anatole France a c\'ed\'e place \`a celui de Bourbaki d'Andr\'e Weil ! Ressurgit alors la vieille question philosophique sur les conditions de l'existence et les modes de l'\^etre, au point de se demander ce qu'est la signification math\'ematique r\'eelle de ce qu'on a eu l'habitude de symboliser par un "E" r\'efl\'echi !

Explore related subjects

math.HO

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Fouad Zinoun. 2024-10-12. Bourbaki, or How Anatole France Reinvented Existential Quantification. https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.09553

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Perspectives on the unit distance problem

This is a survey on an old open problem in combinatorics called the unit distance problem, and the field of mathematics around it, called incidence geometry. What do we know about the problem? Why is it difficult? How does it connect with other parts of math?

math.HO↗
arXiv2026

A Categorical Approach to Euclidean Ratios and Proportions

A categorial approach to the non-metric geometry in Books V and VI of Euclid's \textit{Elements} is presented. Specifically, we introduce a diagrammatic syntax that can be overlaid immediately on his diagrams, thus bridging intuitive presentation with fidelity to Euclid's arguments. This syntax makes complicated definitions like V.5, and indeed the arguments throughout books V and VI, including arguments about similar figures, intuitively clear. We show in an appendix that this syntax can be used to solve a puzzle regarding ancient mathematics. Finally, we offer evidence that this approach to Euclidean diagrams is rooted in the Aristotelian tradition itself, and that a similar syntax was utilized, in antiquity, for related questions of numeric and proportions. Thus the syntax is plausibly faithful to Euclid's own thought-world, and not an outside-imposition.

math.HO↗
arXiv2026

Some Early Results by Tutte Regarding the Cycle Double Cover Conjecture in 1948

OpenAI recently announced a proof of the Cycle Double Cover (CDC) Conjecture. Most media reports have characterized it as a 50-year-old open problem. In reality, according to a 1987 letter from Tutte to Fleischner, the Cycle Double Cover Problem has been open for at least 80 years. Two early results regarding the CDC conjecture were established in one of Tutte's 1949 publications.

math.HO↗