This classic undergraduate text by an eminent educator acquaints students with the fundamental concepts and methods of mathematics. In addition to introducing many noteworthy historical figures from the eighteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries, the book examines the axiomatic method, set theory, infinite sets, the linear continuum and the real number system, and groups. Additional topics include the Frege-Russell thesis, intuitionism, formal systems, mathematical logic, and the cultural setting of mathematics.
Students and teachers will find that this elegant treatment covers a vast amount of material in a single reasonably concise and readable volume. Each chapter concludes with a set of problems and a list of suggested readings. An extensive bibliography and helpful indexes conclude the text.