(Posted February 24, 2017)

George Berkeley
George Berkeley

            Part of what makes Juniata so special is its interdisciplinary approach to education. Eugene Boman, associate professor of mathematics at Penn State Harrisburg, was invited to give a talk, “Ghosts of Departed Errors,”  while combining history and science to teach the founding of calculus.

            To most studying calculus, its principles may seem set in stone. However, it has a fascinating and rocky history which cannot be learned from formulas alone. Boman began his lecture on the history of calculus by saying, “What I want you to notice is that it’s complicated.” Newton’s calculus is very different from what we learn today, and we owe that progress to George Berkeley.

            Berkeley was a prominent bishop of the Anglican Church. He saw calculus as a threat to the church’s doctrine on faith, and in defending his church, criticized Newton. Berkeley published a paper pointing out logical flaws in Newton’s calculus, and claimed that mathematicians were guilty of the same blind faith the Anglican Church was accused of.

            Rather than set mathematics back, Berkeley propelled it forward. Boman went as far to say that, “mathematics owes Berkeley an immense amount of gratitude.” His criticisms were needed to force mathematicians to correct Newton’s shortcomings, which ushered in an era of progress.

            The scientific revolution can be at least partially attributed to the invention of calculus, which provided the framework for new technology, architecture and more. As Boman puts it, calculus, “is the quintessential product of pure reason,” and the progress made in mathematics translated into progress in other sectors of society.

            Mathematics is a collaborative effort which relies on shared ideas, not the insurmountable monolith it is often seen as today. Boman says, “It took the best minds 200 years to learn it,” so don’t feel bad if those 200 years of knowledge doesn’t come to you in an instant.

 Laura Snyder ’17, Juniata Online Journalist

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.