Conceptual Mathematics
In the last 60 years, the use of the notion of category has led to a remarkable unification and simplification of mathematics. Conceptual Mathematics introduces this tool for the learning, development, and use of mathematics, to beginning students and also to practising mathematical scientists. This book provides a skeleton key that makes explicit some concepts and procedures that are common to all branches of pure and applied mathematics. The treatment does not presuppose knowledge of specific fields, but rather develops, from basic definitions, such elementary categories as discrete dynamical systems and directed graphs; the fundamental ideas are then illuminated by examples in these categories. This second edition provides links with more advanced topics of possible study. In the new appendices and annotated bibliography the reader will find concise introductions to adjoint functors and geometrical structures, as well as sketches of relevant historical developments.
- Authors are world class authorities on the subject
- Only text at this elementary level - requires only high-school algebra
- Applications in pure and applied mathematics, computer science, physics, linguistics, logic and philosophy
Reviews & endorsements
"This outstanding book on category theory is in a class by itself. It should be consulted at various stages of one’s mastery of this fundamental body of knowledge."
George Hacken, reviews.com
Product details
August 2009Paperback
9780521719162
404 pages
244 × 171 × 25 mm
0.78kg
575 b/w illus. 12 tables 213 exercises
Available
Table of Contents
- Foreword
- Note to the reader
- Preview
- Part I. The Category of Sets:
- 1. Sets, maps, composition
- Part II. The Algebra of Composition:
- 2. Isomorphisms
- Part III. Categories of Structured Sets:
- 3. Examples of categories
- Part IV. Elementary Universal Mapping Properties:
- 4. Universal mapping properties
- Part V. Higher Universal Mapping Properties:
- 5. Map objects
- 6. The contravariant parts functor
- 7. The components functor
- Appendix 1. Geometry of figures and algebra of functions
- Appendix 2. Adjoint functors
- Appendix 3. The emergence of category theory within mathematics
- Appendix 4. Annotated bibliography.