Problems in the Philosophy of Mathematics (Enhanced Edition‪)‬

One of the most thrilling, yet hitherto little known, chapters in
the history of mathematics is the transformation of early practical
and empirical mathematical knowledge into a systematic deductive
science based on definitions and axioms 1. There is no doubt that
this highly important transformation took place in ancient Greece.
Before the development of Greek culture the concept of deductive
science was unknown to the Eastern peoples of antiquity. I n the
mathematical documents which have come down to us from these
peoples, there are no theorems or demonstrations, and the fundamental
concepts of deduction, definition, and axiom have not yet
been formed. These fundamental concepts made their first appearance
only with the Greek mathematicians.