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Mathematical Treasure: Arnauld's Art of Thinking

Author(s): 
Frank J. Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University)

One of the first modern textbooks published on logic was L’art de penser (1662), by Antoine Arnauld (1612-1694) and Pierre Nicole. In 1717, an English language edition was published in London as Logic, or the Art of Thinking. The translation of this work was undertaken by the Englishman John Ozell (d. 1743), who published an expanded edition in 1723.  The images below come from an edition published in 1727.

Title page of Logic or the Art of Thinking by Arnauld and Nicold (trans. by Ozell), 1727

A depiction of a pensive woman serves as the frontispiece, a rather interesting association warranting further investigation.

Frontispiece of Logic or the Art of Thinking by Arnauld and Nicold (trans. by Ozell), 1727

A sample page provides an example of the presentation.

Page 240 of Logic or the Art of Thinking by Arnauld and Nicold (trans. by Ozell), 1727

You can find more information about Antoine Arnauld in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

The images above are provided courtesy of Columbia University Libraries.

Index to Mathematical Treasures

Frank J. Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University), "Mathematical Treasure: Arnauld's Art of Thinking," Convergence (June 2018)