The Origin and Significance of Zero

An Interdisciplinary Perspective
Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-90-04-69155-1
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 395, 742 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 238 mm, Gewicht: 1252 g

Reihe: Value Inquiry Book Series

Zero has been axial in human development, but the origin and discovery of zero has never been satisfactorily addressed by a comprehensive, systematic and above all interdisciplinary research program. In this volume, over 40 international scholars explore zero under four broad themes: history; religion, philosophy & linguistics; arts; and mathematics & the sciences. Some propose that the invention/discovery of zero may have been facilitated by the prior evolution of a sophisticated concept of Nothingness or Emptiness (as it is understood in non-European traditions); and conversely, inhibited by the absence of, or aversion to, such a concept of Nothingness in the West. But not all scholars agree. Join the debate.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Gobets, Peter

Kuhn, Robert Lawrence

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ästhetik
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Flaggen, Embleme, Symbole, Logos
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophische Logik, Argumentationstheorie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophie der Mathematik, Philosophie der Physik
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Geschichte der Mathematik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Erkenntnistheorie
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Philosophie der Mathematik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents

Foreword

Valdis Seglinš

Preface

Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Acknowledgements

List of Figures and Tables

Notes on Contributors

Introduction

Peter Gobets

Part 0: Zero in Historical Perspective

Introduction to Part 0

1 Viewing the Zero as a Part of Cross-cultural Intellectual Heritage

Bhaswati Bhattacharya

2 Connecting Zeros

Mayank N. Vahia

3 Babylonian Zeros

Jim Ritter

4 Aspects of Zero in Ancient Egypt

Friedhelm Hoffmann

5 The Zero Concept in Ancient Egypt

Beatrice Lumpkin

6 On the Placeholder in Numeration and the Numeral Zero in China

Célestin Xiaohan Zhou

7 Reflections on Early Dated Inscriptions from South India

T. S. Ravishankar

8 From Sunya to Zero – an Enigmatic Odyssey

Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay

9 The Significance of Zero in Jaina Mathematics

Anupam Jain

10 Notes on the Origin of the First Definition of Zero Consistent with Basic Physical Laws

Jonathan J. Crabtree

11 Putting a Price on Zero

Manil Suri

12 Revisiting Khmer Stele K-127

Debra G. Aczel, Solang Uk and Hab Touch

13 The Medieval Arabic Zero

Jeffrey A. Oaks

14 Numeration in the Scientific Manuscripts of the Maghreb

Djamil Aïssani

15 The Zero Triumphant: Allegory, Emptiness and the Early History of the Tarot

Esther Freinkel Tishman

Part 1: Zero in Religious, Philosophical and Linguistic Perspective

Introduction to Part 1

16 On the Semiotics of Zero

Brian Rotman

17 Nought Matters: the History and Philosophy of Zero

Paul Ernest

18 The Influence of Buddhism on the Invention and Development of Zero

Alexis Lavis

19 Zero and Sunyata: Likely Bedfellows

Fabio Gironi

20 Indian Origin of Zero

Ravi Prakash Arya

21 A Philosophical Origin of the Mathematical Zero

Sudip Bhattacharyya

22 Category Theory and the Ontology of Sunyata

Sisir Roy and Rayudu Posina

23 Zero: an Integrative Spiritual Perspective with One and Infinity

Sharda S. Nandram, Puneet K. Bindlish, Ankur Joshi and Vishwanath Dhital

24 Challenges in Interpreting the Invention of Zero

Kaspars Klavins

25 Some More Unsystematic Notes on Sunya

Alberto Pelissero

26 Much Ado about Nothing or, How Much Philosophy Is Required to Invent the Number Zero?

Johannes Bronkhorst

27 From Emptiness to Nonsense: the Constitution of the Number Zero (for Non-mathematicians)

Erik Hoogcarspel

28 The Fear of Nothingness

John Marmysz

29 The Concept of Naught in Jewish Tradition

Esti Eisenmann

30 How Does Tom Tillemans Think?

Erik Hoogcarspel

31 Overhauling the Prevailing Worldview: an Essay

Peter Gobets

Part 2: Zero in the Arts

Introduction to Part 2

32 Selected Works by Anish Kapoor

Peter Gobets

Part 3: Zero in Mathematics and Science

Introduction to Part 3

33 The Unique Significance of Zero in Thinking: a Sense of ‘Nothing’

Andreas Nieder

34 Can We Divide by Zero?

Marina Ville

35 Division by Zero (khahara) in Indian Mathematics

Avinash Sathaye

36 Zero: in Various Forms

Mayank N. Vahia and Upsana Neogi

37 Nothing, Zeno Paradoxes and Quantum Physics

Marcis Auzinsh

38 The Significance to Physics of the Number Zero

Joseph A. Biello and R. Samson

39 A World without Zero

R. Samson

Epilogue

Peter Gobets

Appendix 1: Expertise Center on Zero Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Appendix 2: Online Presentations

Appendix 3: Status Update/Petition on the Bakhshali Manuscript

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Peter Gobets is an independent researcher, specializing in philosophy, linguistics and the history of science and mathematics. He has authored three books including a philosophical novel. In the early 1990s, he drafted the original Zero Project, formally launched in 2015.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn (B.A., S.M., Ph.D.) is creator and host of Closer To Truth (science and philosophy, TV and web). He has written or edited over thirty books, chairs The Kuhn Foundation, and received the China Reform Friendship Medal.