L’idée de mathesis universalis dans La Philosophie de l’algèbre I et II de Jules Vuillemin

Abstract

In his Philosophie de l’algèbre (1962), Jules Vuillemin presents his approach as a way of instructing “the problem which is so important and so neglected today of Mathesis universalis in its relation to philosophy”. Moreover, he calls the second part of the treatise “Universal Mathematics”, a title he also uses for the conclusion. When presenting the draft of the second volume, he suggests that this study should have led him “to the tangible questions of universal mathematics”. However, at no time does Vuillemin explain the nature of this problem. The aim of this article is to produce such an explanation particularly by relying on certain elements put forward in the preparatory manuscript for the second volume.