The qualitative analysis of differential equations and the development of dynamical systems theory

Tatiana Roque

pp. 313-324

in: Décio Krause, Antonio A. Passos Videira (eds), Brazilian studies in philosophy and history of science, Berlin, Springer, 2011

Abstract

The first scientific work concerning a qualitative approach to the problem of solving differential equations was published by Poincaré in the end of the nineteenth century. Before him, the usual methods to treat linear differential equations tried to solve them explicitly. These works gave birth to a theory now known as Dynamical Systems. We give here a brief account of our researches concerning the development of this theory up to the 1960's.