In this 1995 work, mathematician David Reed proposes a novel approach to the history and philosophy of mathematics by treating mathematical writings as texts subject to literary and philosophical analysis. Reed offers the first sustained and critical attempt to identify a consistent argument or narrative thread in mathematical texts, examining their rhetorical strategies and demonstrating that such readings open up a rich set of philosophical questions that traditional approaches to the discipline have largely neglected. Using an extended commentary on Euclid’s Elements as a central structuring framework, Reed compares the approaches of mathematicians from across different historical periods, tracing a line from Descartes and Hilbert through to Kronecker, Dedekind, Weil, and Grothendieck. The work occupies an unusual position at the intersection of mathematics, philosophy of science, and textual criticism, and remains a significant reference for scholars interested in the epistemology and cultural history of mathematical knowledge.

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