Cassius Keyser

Cassius Jackson Keyser (born May 15, 1862 in Rawson , Ohio ( USA ), † May 8, 1947 in New York City ) was an American mathematician.

Life

His father Jacob B. Keyser was a farmer, his mother Margaret Jane (née Ryan) ran the household. Cassius and his three siblings Charlotte, Calvin and Alonzo went to school in the neighboring town of Union until the family moved to Hardin in the 1870s.

In 1879 Keyser entered the "North West Ohio Normal School" (today: Ohio Northern University ) in Ada (Ohio) . He achieved a science degree and was selected to deliver a speech to the graduates at the graduation ceremony where he spoke on the subject of Reason and Faith. He married a college colleague, Ella Maud Crow of Ridgeway, Ohio on August 19, 1885.

Upon graduation, Keyser began his work as a school principal in Ridgeway, Ohio, and then got a position in Plattsburg, Missouri . He taught math at the University of Missouri and earned a bachelor's degree in that faculty. After brief positions as a math teaching assistant at the "New York State Normal School" (New Paltz, New York) and at Washington University ( St. Louis ), Keyser continued his education at Columbia University in New York City. He obtained a master's degree in mathematics in 1896 and a doctorate in 1901. His other interests included geometry, history and philosophy .

Keyser's affiliation with Columbia University led well beyond attaining his titles. There he was teaching assistant for mathematics (1900-1903), and professor for mathematics (1903-1927). He also served as chairman of the mathematics faculty (1910-1916). He was admired among the students as a diligent teacher, even if he was "a little old-fashioned in his style and a little awkward ". During his time at this university he held a seminar on the work " Principia Mathematica ", which was published at the time . In the audience sat the mathematician and logician Emil Post .

Keyser quit his job in 1927 and retired. He died at his home in New York City on May 8, 1947, at the age of nearly 85. His obituary appeared in the New York Times on May 9th. A group of friends and colleagues formed the Society of Friends of Cassius Keyser, whose aim was to publish his unknown work. The first issue appeared on his 85th birthday, a week after his death.

plant

Keyser was a successful writer and lecturer throughout his academic career, particularly in the field of mathematical philosophy. Among his more than 50 works were titles such as "Mathematical Philosophy: A Study of Fate and Freedom (Reading for the Educated Layman)", "The Human Value of Rigorous Thinking" and "Mathematics and the Question of the Cosmic Brain". James Roy Newman integrated Keyser's work “The Group Concept” into his four-part classic “The World of Mathematics” as one of two articles on group theory. General semantics , the area that studies the fundamentals of the structure of mathematics and the natural sciences and tries to adapt these structures to the human approach, was introduced by Alfred Korzybski in 1933 in his work "Wissenschaft und Vernunft". Korzybski praised Keyser for having had great influence on himself and the beginnings of semantics.

Keyser was, with his university colleague John Dewey , one of the members of the organizing committee of the "American Association of University Professors", which today has over 45,000 members. He was also a co-author of the "Scripta Mathematica" and in 1906 worked as an author for the " Encyclopedia Americana " and the "Hibbert Journal".

literature

• Mathematics and the Question of the Cosmic Mind, with Other Essays .
• 1914: Science and Religion: The Rational and the Super-Rational
• 1916: The Human Worth of Rigorous Thinking . Columbia Univ. Press.
• 1932: The meaning of mathematics .
• 1935: A glance at some of the ideas of Charles Sanders Peirce .
• 1935: Three great synonyms: Relation, transformation, function .
• 1936: Charles Sanders Peirce as a pioneer . A lecture given at the Galois Institute of Mathematics at Long Island University.
• 1936: Panthetics .
• 1938: A mathematical prodigy: history and legend .
• 1938: Roger Bacon .
• 1938: Benedict Spinoza .
• 1939: The Role of Mathematics in the tragedy of our modern culture .
• 1942: Thinking about thinking .
• 1947: Mathematics as a culture clue .
• 1952: The rational and the superrational: studies in thinking .
• 2005: Mathematics . Michigan Historical Reprint Series.
• 2005: Mathematical Philosophy: A Study of Fate and Freedom (Lectures for the Educated Laymen) . Michigan Historical Reprint Series.

swell

• Biography at Bowling Green State University ( Memento from December 14, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
• Cassius Keyser in the Mathematics Genealogy Project (English)