The Automation of Reason
Overview
Leibniz dreamed of a universal language and a calculus of reason which would reduce all problems to numerical computation. Unrealisable in his time, it is still today a dream, but one which (subject to qualifications) advances in mathematics, logic and information technology may have brought within our grasp.
The Automation of Reason - Some History
Leibniz dreamed of a universal language and a calculus of reason which would reduce all problems to numerical computation. Unrealisable in his time, it is still today a dream, but one which (subject to qualifications) advances in mathematics, logic and information technology may have brought within our grasp.
Leibniz dreamed of a universal language and a calculus of reason which would reduce all problems to numerical computation. Unrealisable in his time, it is still today a dream, but one which (subject to qualifications) advances in mathematics, logic and information technology may have brought within our grasp.
From Calculators to Global Networks
The calculator which Leibnxiz designed and built was nowhere near adequate for doing anything worthwhile with the calculus ratiocinator which he envisaged. Todays global networks of electronic computers are more like what is needed. It took a long history of innovation to get from the one to the other.
The Logicisation of Analysis
The "calculus", independently invented by Isaac Newton and Leibniz, was the beginning of a new branch of mathematics called "analysis". Analysis developed rapidly over the next hundred years, providing the mathematical techniques necessary for the growth of science and engineering. Success in application made continued development possible despite reservations about the coherence and rigour of the methods which had been adopted. Rigourisation, leading eventually to logicisation began only in the nineteenth century.
The Automation of Analysis

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